-
Stacy Pearsall
Stacy Pearsall has hosted 82 episodes.
Stacy Pearsall began her service as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries. She attended the Military Photojournalism Program at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University where she was named a 50 Forward distinguished graduate. During her deployments, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor for combat actions in Iraq. Though combat disabled and retired from military service, her service animal Charlie helps her continue to work worldwide as an independent photographer and as an author, educator, military consultant, BRAVO748 public speaker and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project.
Her work has been exhibited at The Woodruff Arts Center, The Pentagon, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum among numerous other galleries and venues. She is the Producer and Host of the PBS television series, After Action. She is one of only three women to win the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Military Photographer of the Year competition, and the first woman to earn it twice. She has authored two books – Shooter: Combat from Behind the Camera and A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the Trenches with Stacy Pearsall.
Stacy has been presented with the Jefferson Award and Hill Vets 100 Artist of the Year, honored with the Daughters of the American Revolution Margaret Cochran Corbin Award and the Girl Scout’s Woman of Distinction Award, lauded by President Barack Obama as a White House as a Champion of Change, and she holds an honorary doctoral degree in journalism from The Citadel. She has served as a nominating juror for the Pulitzer Prize.
Her military medals and honors include:
Bronze Star
Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster (one earned aboard Army UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters in Iraq and the other earned aboard Marines CH-53E and CH46E Seahawks in HOA)
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation with Valor with one oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor
Air Force Combat Action MedalOther Military Honors:
Army Combat Action Badge
Military Photographer of the year (2003 and 2007)
Joint Junior Service Member of the Year (1999, 2000, 2001)
Air Force NCO of the Year (2004)
John Levitow RecipientStacy became a life member of The American Legion when she transitioned out of service and joined Post 166 in Goose Creek when she settled in South Carolina a few years later.
-
Joe Worley
Joe Worley has hosted 72 episodes.
Former Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Joe "Doc" Worley served in Iraq as a US Navy Corpsman. He was an infantry platoon medic in Second Battalion, First Marines in Fallujah in 2004.
On September 17, 2004, while on patrol an IED exploded into a Humvee killing a Marine and an Iraqi Interpreter. Not even 10 days prior, his former platoon had seven Marines killed in action when a vehicle borne IED drove into their patrol. The attrition from the blast was so severe that the platoon, known as Pale Rider Three, would be disbanded and the surviving Marines sent to other platoons in Fox Company.
As he was running to the aid of the two comrades mortally wounded by an IED, Joe was hit by a secondary IED that blew off his left leg, and suffered multiple wounds to his right leg, leaving it severely damaged. Miraculously, he survived, and was able to tie his own tourniquet and shout instructions to aid in the treatment the other wounded Marines.
Joe recieved a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart from his actionst that day. After 18 months of rehabilitation at Bethesda and Walter Reed, he now lives in Georgia with his family, and works for America's VetDogs, a non-profit that trains Service and Guide dogs for military and first responders. He also writes, sings, and narrates audiobooks, and tries to stay active in the gym so he can eat donuts and pizza in his spare time.
-
Adam Marr
Adam Marr has hosted 64 episodes.
Adam Marr graduated from Texas Christian University in 2006 and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. He graduated from flight school at Fort Rucker, AL in 2009 as an Apache Helicopter Pilot and would go on to make “Pilot-in Command” and “Air Mission Commander.” In 2010 Adam deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 1st CAB, 1-1 ARB out of Fort Riley, KS where he flew over 400 combat hours and was awarded the Combat Action Badge. In 2011 Adam took command of Charlie Company 1-1 ARB and became the first company in the Army to field and train on the new Apache Echo model aircraft. Adam’s last assignment from 2013-2015 was as an OCT at Ft Polk, LA where he helped train and evaluate Attack & Reconnaissance helicopter troops in full spectrum operations prior to their combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since 2015 Adam has been on the front lines of helping to organize, operationalize, and advocate for innovative solutions to the Veteran mental health & suicide crisis. Vowing to fix what was broken, Adam Co-Founded Warrior Angels Foundation 501(c)3 with his brother in 2015 to help bring an innovative message and solution to sponsor treatments for Veterans who had sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury.
In 2017 Adam co-authored the best-selling book "TALES FROM THE BLAST FACTORY," offering a unique perspective on the intimate challenges his brother, a Special Forces Green Beret, faced transitioning out of the Army because of his TBI and PTS injuries sustained in combat. This book was the inspiration for the Academy Award qualified documentary film Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain (2020).
Concurrent to all this, Adam spent 5yrs as a management consultant executive for Accenture LLC specializing in leading at the intersection of people and technology, helping fortune 100 executive teams deploy large scale multimillion-dollar organizational transformations.
In 2021 Adam left Accenture to support the passing of Texas House Bill 1802 which was the first legislation of its kind in the United States which allowed for clinical trials in the state of Texas through the Baylor College of Medicine using psilocybin and related therapeutics to help explore clearly, these breakthrough treatments that produce curative results not attainable with existing pharmacology.
Adam is an advocate for the safe and responsible use of these therapies. He attributes his ibogaine and 5MeODMT protocol as a life changing experience that helped reconnect him to his Christian faith and address his own personal combat and service-related traumas. In 2023 he shared his story of healing with these medicines in front of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement and Advisory Commission who is considering the allocation of $42M for novel programs using these therapies to combat the opioid epidemic.
Adam is the current Director of Operations for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition. The VMHLC is a 501(c)19 coalition led by Lieutenant General Martin R. Steele USMC Ret. along with +45 organizations that advocate for increased research and safe, affordable access to psychedelic medicine and assisted therapies for Veterans and their family members. In 2023 the VMHLC helped unlock $12M in state funding across 4 states for these programs.
Adam is married to the love of his life Alycia, they live in the rural southern town of Slocomb,Ala., where they delight in raising their three children Amelia, Austin, and Aria.
-
Jennifer Ballou
Jennifer Ballou has hosted 2 episodes.
Jennifer R. Ballou is originally from Mentor, Ohio. In June of 1994, three weeks after her high school graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army as a Dental Assistant. Jennifer served for almost 21 years, retiring in May 2015. She held numerous leadership positions throughout her Army career, culminating as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the United States Army Resilience Directorate, Army G1, Pentagon. She also served as First Sergeant, 257th Dental Company (Area Support), 44th Medical Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was during this assignment, while deployed to Afghanistan, that her husband, SSG Edwardo Loredo, was Killed in Action.
Some of Jennifer’s awards and decorations include the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award and the Legion of Merit. She earned a Master of Science degree in Yoga Therapy from Maryland University of Integrative Health, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Franklin University and is an alumnus of the 2022 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program through the President George W. Bush Presidential Center. Jennifer serves on the USAA Advisory Panel and as a faculty member for Warriors at Ease, a non-profit organization that offers accessible and evidence-based training in yoga and meditation.
Jennifer initially joined the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation in 2022 as their first Gold Star Fellow and currently serves as the Chief of Staff. She was previously the Deputy Chief of Staff for the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, she is a Certified Professional Life Coach, and a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, specializing in trauma-sensitive, therapeutic, and adaptive yoga.
Jennifer is the wife of Omari Ballou, Command Sergeant Major, US Army Retired, and is the proud mother of Alexis, Eddie, and Sophia.
Retired Hosts
-
Amy Forsythe
Amy Forsythe has hosted 23 episodes.
Amy Forsythe is an award-winning multimedia journalist and military combat veteran with more than 28 years of experience in storytelling, communications and multimedia content creation.
Amy deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine Combat Correspondent and now continues to serve as a Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Her imagery and articles have been published on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, Newsweek Magazine, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, and many other news outlets.
She's been on assignment in many other countries and locations like Niger, Germany, Romania, Poland, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Palau, Guam and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She recently released the book Heroes Live Here as a tribute to honor those Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton who served and sacrificed in wars since 9/11.
-
Ashley Gutermuth
Ashley Gutermuth has hosted 51 episodes.
Ashley Gutermuth is a New Jersey-based actress, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. She has appeared on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon where she was chosen by Jerry Seinfeld to win the ‘Seinfeld Challenge.’ In 2021, Ashley won the headliner category of the US Comedy Contest.
Ashley has performed for The World Series of Comedy, The New York Underground Comedy Festival and The North Carolina Comedy Festival. She has also appeared on shows with Chris Kattan (SNL) and Steve Hytner (Seinfeld) among many others.
Ashley is married to a career Air Force reservist, and she's rapidly building an online following with her unique take on spouse and military humor, and she's carving out a name for herself with her inside-military jokes.
When Ashley is not performing stand-up or voice-overs, she is usually running and has a daily running streak that spans over six years. She has run at least one mile a day since 1.26.2015, and during her runs, she picks up litter because she was tired of her arms just going along for the ride. Ashley posts running tips and other comedy videos on her social media channels, which have over 50 million views!
-
Matt Jabaut
Matt Jabaut has hosted 3 episodes.
Matthew Jabaut was born in Farmington, Maine, raised in Durham, and graduated from Lewiston High School. He served in the US Army from 1997- 2005 as a combat medic. During his service, he led Evacuation and Treatment squads, served as Retention, EEO, and UPL NCO. He was an instructor at the Joint medical training center in Fort Lewis, Wash., earned the Expert Field medical badge, and completed a combat tour in the middle east.
After transitioning out of the military Matt attended Point Park University under the VA Voc Rehab program completing his BS in Human Resource Management and continued under the GI Bill completing a Masters in Organizational Leadership.
Shortly after returning to Maine, Matt joined the Legion at Post 202 in Topsham. Since joining he has served as 2nd vice and as Commander. Matt has also served as Department Chaplain, Judge Advocate, 2nd Vice Commander, 1st Vice Commander, Department Commander and on various Department and National Committees, including Department Legislative, Post 9/11, resolutions, and National 21st Century committee, Legislative Council, a consultant to the National Internal Affairs Commission and is currently serving as the National Executive Committee Alternate Department of Maine and National Membership and Post Activities Chairman.
In 2015 Matt attended National American Legion College and graduated at the top of his class. He has also worked with his fellow NALC alum to deliver a department level Legion College and has also been a facilitator at the National American Legion College.
Matt looks forward to continuing to serve the Legionnaires and veterans of his community.
-
Jeff Stoffer
Jeff Stoffer has hosted 4 episodes.
Jeff Stoffer is director of The American Legion Media & Communications Division and served as The American Legion 100th Anniversary Observance Committee staff co-chairman.
He developed "Century of Service: An Illustrated History of The American Legion," which was published in October 2019, and wrote the scripts for "To Strengthen a Nation: The American Legion Story," a documentary series on the organization's first century.
He is a member of Sons of The American Legion Squadron 42, Townsend, Mont.
-
Ashley Gorbulja
Ashley Gorbulja has hosted 181 episodes.
Ashley Gorbulja is a passionate advocate for the military-connected community. With over ten years of dedicated service as a Legion member, she has contributed significantly to local, state, and national advocacy efforts, striving to improve policies and programs for veterans and their families.
In addition to her advocacy, Ashley is a strategic visionary with a wealth of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She is the Founder & CEO of GuideOn Education Consulting LLC, where she leverages her expertise in strategic communications and marketing to build nationally recognized brands and communities.
Ashley's academic achievements include graduating debt-free with four degrees, including a master’s in public health from the Consortium of Eastern Ohio and bachelor's degrees in The Science of Education and Organizational Supervision from The University of Akron. She completed her master’s in public leadership from the University of San Francisco in 2022.
Ashley's work has been recognized by numerous podcasts, publications, and panels, and she has received accolades from non-profits and state and federal organizations. She inspires others with her mantra: "I Can. I Will. Watch Me," embodying the spirit of resilience and determination in all her endeavors.
-
Jeff Daly
Jeff Daly has hosted 198 episodes.
Jeff hails from Kalamazoo, Michigan. After high school he joined the Marines and is one of "The Magnificent Bastards" of 2nd Battalion/4th Marines.
With DD-214 in hand, Jeff returned to Michigan to study Economics and Political Science at Kalamazoo College. After college, Chicago and The Second City Conservatory was his next stop. Then it was off to LA to pursue fame and fortune...stay tuned.
In Los Angeles, Jeff got reconnected with veterans through American Legion Hollywood Post 43 and also Veterans in Media and Entertainment. In addition to various positions and duties in the American Legion, Jeff is active with SAG-AFTRA serving on the Military Affairs and Communications committees for Los Angeles local.
Jeff enjoys long walks and is looking for....oh, not that kind of bio?
-
Mark Seavey
Mark Seavey has hosted 103 episodes.
Mark grew up in Maine and Massachusetts before deciding to move south and attend The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Following graduation he decided not to go into the military despite having four years of ROTC and moved to Washington DC where he worked for various non-profits.
Looking for some adventure he enlisted in the Infantry in the Reserves and later National Guard. He deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina in 1997 as part of the first call up of combat arms units of the National Guard since the Vietnam War.
On a lark he took the Law School Admission Test in 2000 and began law school at Antonin Scalia Law School “to prove any random infantryman can become a lawyer.” In the latter half of his second year he dropped out to volunteer for service in Afghanistan as an infantry squad leader, and received his Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Since returning from that deployment he finished law school, founded a veterans organization, passed the bar exam, got married and now has three young children.
He has worked for The American Legion since 1998, working his way from VAR to Legislative and then to the Media & Communications Division. He has appeared on CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC and a host of other channels as a war reporter and an expert on “Stolen Valor.” His articles appear in The American Legion Magazine and the Legion’s blog at burnpit.us.