BTM156 – Waco Hoover – The American Legion’s Be The One Initiative
02/13/24 • 29 min
Previous Episode
BTM155 – Dennis Miller – The Legacy of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
Show Summary
On this episode, we feature a conversation with Marine Corps Veteran Dennis Miller, a veteran advocate and entrepreneur in the greater Philadelphia area. Dennis and I are going to be having a conversation about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a multi-ethnic unit of predominantly black women who were assigned ot England and France to clear several years of backlogged mail in the European Theater of Operations.
About Today’s Guest
Dennis Miller is a South Philadelphia native who grew up in a military family and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1996. Dennis served as an infantryman, marksmanship instructor and small unit leader before being medically retired and separating from active duty in 2009.
Upon retirement, Dennis attended Lincoln University, the nation’s first HBCU. Shortly after graduation, he began work at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center as a research coordinator on a study focused on pain disparities (SPA Study). Dennis then served as the Wounded Warrior Fellow in the 13th congressional district of PA where he was tasked as the office lead in Norristown and with managing all the military and Veteran casework in the district. As that fellowship ended, Dennis began consulting for public officials, non-profits and private companies, establishing Wheel Dog Industries (WDI), a public policy consulting firm, specializing in veteran and military affairs.
Shortly after launching WDI, Dennis founded the Greater Philadelphia Area Veteran Chamber of Commerce, an organization built to increase the economic capacity of the Veteran community in and around Philadelphia. He sits on various boards, including the Veterans Advisory Panel of the 4th congressional district of PA and Ft. Mifflin on the Delaware. Dennis is a #StandToScholar, having attended the Veteran Leadership Program at the George W. Bush Presidential Institute and is also a Union League Veteran Initiative Fellow. He returned to federal service in 2021 as a Congressional and Intergovernmental Specialist at the Department of Justice. Dennis managed an extensive portfolio and worked relentlessly to build relationships between his office and the Hill. Dennis now works as an External Affairs Liaison at FEMA, responsible for delivery of mitigation messaging to congressional offices, intergovernmental agencies and media outlets.
Dennis is a husband and father; his wife, Holly, graciously tolerates his presence and his children, Jacqueline, Jordan and Joshua, make every effort to endure the endless embarrassment their father brings them. Dennis loves dogs and has a Boxer puppy named Adonis that shares the Miller family home in Elkins Park. He is an avid follower of all things Philadelphia sports and is a history buff, specifically surrounding World War II. Dennis serves as an advisor and mentor to young Veterans in the Philadelphia community and is active in various charitable organizations and programs in and around the city.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Web Site
The Six Triple Eight Documentary
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course Women Who Serve. This course is an overview of the contributions women have made to our military forces. This course is intended for those who want to better understand women's role in our military.
You can see find the course here:
https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/women-who-serve
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy V...
Next Episode
BTM157 - John Langford - Project Healing Waters
Show Summary
On this episode, we feature a conversation with Marine Corps veteran John Langford, Chief Executive Officer of Project Healing Waters. Project Healing Waters helps active military service personnel and Veterans in need through a dedicated, developed curriculum of fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying, and fly rod building.
About Today’s Guest
John served in the Marine Corps, as both enlisted and officer, for 23 years, primarily as a Weapons and Sensors Officer in the F-18D Hornet, before retiring in 2009. He completed multiple operational and combat deployments and brings with him an extensive background in Veteran nonprofit leadership focused on sports, wellness, and development.
John has over 37 years of experience in executive-level leadership, strategic planning, and organizational change management and in the 14 years since his military retirement, has served in senior leadership roles in defense contracting and consulting firms, corporate sales and in the nonprofit sector. For the last eight years, John has led multiple organizations in nearly every facet of national Veteran nonprofit management, including event planning, service member transition, and development. John is a humble and passionate servant leader with a lifelong commitment to serving the Veteran and military community.
John is a graduate of multiple advanced military schools and courses including Air Combat Tactics Instructor and Weapons and Tactics Instructor Courses, Amphibious Warfare School, and Command and Staff College. He holds a Master of Science in Sport Business from Temple University. John has five adult children, including two who are active duty Marines. He’s an avid outdoorsman, and lives in northern Colorado where he finds joy and solace through fly fishing and being in the outdoors.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Project Healing Waters Web Site
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course Volunteer Recruitment and Screening. This course discusses the basic components and inter-dependencies of recruiting and screening volunteers, as well as the value of having a recruitment process.
You can see find the course here:
https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/Volunteer-Recruitment-and-Screening
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com
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