Restored with Corie Weathers, LPC

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.  

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

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.  

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.    

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  

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

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:

Shannon Razsadin, MFAN advocate, discusses millennials challenging societal norms and advocating for government response, including addressing mold crisis, food insecurity, and struggles faced by newcomers in the military. She emphasizes the significance of research in guiding nonprofit initiatives and the importance of leadership dynamics in creating lasting impact.

Military analyst and writer Amy Bushatz discusses the impact of technology on the military culture. Topics include Millennials influencing the force, betrayal felt by service members, changes in military communication dynamics, and evolving perceptions of military spouses and benefits.

Former Joint Chief of AF, Former Joint Chief of the Air Force, General Norton Schwartz, and his wife discuss the challenging decisions made by top military leadership during crises like the Afghanistan exit. They also touch on military leadership, service journey, and the evolution of military service and leadership, highlighting the importance of fiscal discipline, public service, and accountability in military leadership.