The VetsConnection Podcast

Ep. 20 - From The Harrowing Experiences Of Deployment, And A Particularly Life-Altering Explosion That Solidified His Resolve To Give Back To His Fellow Veterans. I Talk With Veteran Alex Briggs, Founder Of Silent Wounds And Warriors Foundation.

• Scott McLean • Episode 20

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What drives a man to transform his life from a software engineer to a soldier, and then to the founder of a nonprofit supporting veterans with TBI and PTSD? Join us as Alex Briggs, the remarkable CEO of Silent Wounds and Warriors Foundation, narrates his gripping journey from civilian life to the front lines in Syria where he encountered an explosion that changed his life forever and sent him on a new mission to help other veterans that are impacted by TBI and PTSD.

Inspired by a transformative experience at Revival Hyper Barracks, we dive into the motivations behind creating nonprofits aimed at helping those who've served. Discover the passion and determination required to establish a genuine and effective support system for veterans and first responders. With a diverse and talented board—including Green Berets and experts in crypto and mental health from Northwestern—we're committed to nurturing healing and fostering resilience within the veteran community. Listen in as we also discuss our upcoming podcast, designed to amplify the voices of Purple Heart veterans and inspire others through their recovery stories.

Community support is vital, and we're thrilled to share the completion of our latest bridge project, a testament to what collective effort can achieve. We encourage listeners to share the episode, leave positive reviews, and promote initiatives that benefit veterans and their families. For nonprofits working in the veteran space, we're here to help you amplify your mission. Tune in and be part of a movement dedicated to serving those who have served our nation with honor and bravery.

Scott McLean:

Show note. During this episode, you'll hear my guest say the word dive. In this case, a dive is a session in a hyperbaric oxygen tank. You would think I would have asked him what that is, but since I knew what it was, I assumed and well, you know the rest I'm a bad interviewer. Bad, horrible interviewer. Enjoy the show. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Scott McClain. My guest today is Alex Briggs. Alex is the founder and CEO of Silent Wounds and Warriors Foundation, a nonprofit that works with veterans, providing medical support and advocacy for vets suffering from TBI and PTSD, and he's also a future podcaster.

Alex Briggs:

What's up, Alex hey Scott, Thanks for having me.

Scott McLean:

My pleasure, buddy. My pleasure how you doing, doing great. Just another great day. All right, that's the attitude, buddy. That's the attitude, so we're going to jump right into it. Tell us about yourself when you went into the military, what? That's the attitude, so we're going to jump right into it. Tell us about yourself when you went into the military, what happened in there and then when you got out, and why you're starting your nonprofit.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, definitely so I actually joined in 2017. At the time, I was working for the Air Force as a software engineer, as a civilian and working with military members all the time. I wanted to give back myself, so I looked into all the branches. Luckily, my brother led the charge and he joined the Army National Guard before I did so. I followed in his footsteps and ended up joining the Idaho Army National Guard. I went to basic training, came back from basic training, went to officer candidate school, then commissioned as a field artillery officer. So that was the beginning part of my military career. A lot of people thought I was crazy. You know I was already well into my career, working as an engineer, working for the Air Force, doing some really cool things software for the F-16s, f-35s did software for the B-1 bombers. But you know what? I had to go in and decide to join myself and give back a little bit.

Scott McLean:

All right. So where did that take you?

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, so after Officer Candidate School, commissioned, joined with the field artillery and spent some time as a platoon leader on a line battery, so with the Paladins. It was a great opportunity to learn. You know, actually from that perspective of what the Paladins can do and how awesome the King of Battle is field artillery. So explain to us what the paladins can do and how awesome the king of battle is field artillery so explain to us what the paladins are yeah, so, uh, they're a field artillery asset 155 super cool to work with tracked vehicle and we get to blow things up.

Alex Briggs:

It's the coolest thing in the world, um, you know, especially when you get to work with some awesome forward observers and you get some steel on steel on targets, it's a pretty, pretty fun thing. Spend some time doing that. Usually in the field artillery world when you're an officer, you go the fire direction route for a little bit, which is where you're a platoon leader, a fire direction officer, over the paladins, and then usually a little bit later on in your career, you would go over fire support. Usually, when you're a fire support officer, you're in charge of what we call FISTERs, so fire support team F-I-S-T and the forward observers, the 13 FOXs. So I got an opportunity to volunteer for a deployment. Our state was heading over to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and we had three groups of FISIST teams supporting three different companies and all of us were fighting to get into the fight and was in Kuwait for five days and then got sent up to Syria for six months there and got to experience life on a little fob and all that Syria had to offer us.

Scott McLean:

Did anything happen to you while you were in? Did you have any?

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, so kind of right around the six month mark, did anything happen to you while you were in? Did you have any things that were hitting us? And one of our missions I was in the lead vehicle and we're out driving around looking for smuggling routes and militants smuggling weapons around, and next thing I know, explosion. And I was sitting in the back of a Bradley Bradley fighting vehicle because I was supporting an infantry company and the last thing I remember is flying through the air and then everything just went dark and I remember just that wave from the blast. And then next thing I know I couldn't breathe. I was laying on top of one of my buddies and there was so much smoke, so much dust. It was almost like a gagging feeling, like just a desperation to breathe, because your breath gets taken away and I just remember it was dark, I couldn't see desperation to breathe. And because your breath gets taken away, um, and I I could, just, I just remember it's dark, I couldn't see, um, I could hear a whole bunch of people coughing, a whole bunch of people struggling to breathe. So like my adrenaline kicked in right, then jumped up and, uh, there's a true patch on top of a bradley fighting vehicle popped that open and this I just remember this this flow of air came in and we could finally breathe and uh, it was like oh, oh, what just happened? You know like it was.

Alex Briggs:

It was a big shock and looking back on it, we got. We got really lucky, um, with some some things that happened. Um, my job was controlling apache aircrafts on our missions, so most the time I was on my net talking to the pilots and telling them essentially what to do, what to look at to keep us safe. And we just happened to be really lucky that day because I put in an air request for a certain time that they would check on on my net and we got blown up 15 minutes before they're supposed to check in on, so got on, requested some aviation assets to help, you know, keep us safe, and luckily, aircraft was checking in on my net 10 minutes later and, uh, able to you know, keep our little convoy safe.

Alex Briggs:

And in the meantime, well, we got some qrF there to help us out.

Scott McLean:

Everybody made it.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, everyone made it. Everyone in the Bradley had traumatic brain injuries and you know just little things like blood coming out of my ears. I remember when I finally saw some medics they asked me who the president was and I was like it's Obama. Of course it wasn't Obama at the time, of course it wasn't Obama at the time. And you know, just kind of really struggled from then on with. You know I could hardly stand without feeling nauseous and dry. Heaving for like two weeks straight Couldn't work out.

Scott McLean:

You know all the common symptoms of a brain injury and so I know you said it like little things, like the blood coming out of your ear, right, yeah. And when you and I had a discussion before you came on, you had said that you were in the hospital and somebody else came in. Another soldier came in and was pretty banged up and you were like, oh, what happened to me is nothing compared to what happened to me.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, I mean that kind of happens quite a bit, right, you know, I think as veterans we're taught to kind of suck it up and keep moving forward. And you know, I had the opportunity to actually deploy with my brother, so we kind of overlapped in Syria for a little bit and his platoon got pretty messed up. They had over 20 brain injuries. One of his guys got shrapneled through the neck, had to be medevaced out and luckily they all made it.

Alex Briggs:

But it's hard as a veteran you just want to suck it up and keep going and you always think to yourself, hey, there's someone that has it worse than me and that's your justification not to get help me, right, and that's your justification not to get help. And uh, you know, as I've gone through this recovery and meeting other veterans and hearing their stories and you know, even going through the VA and hearing people's stories there, you know I think that's what we do. We justify, hey, there's someone's work, someone's worse than us, like they need the help more than me. And then you also worry about what other veterans will think of you, right, like, are they going to think I'm a wuss? Cause, you know, cause I got medevaced out, right, like you know I I remember after, after I got blown up, there was someone that you know I ended up staying there for for two weeks just getting medical attention there for two weeks straight before I'd gotten sent out of Syria, and someone's like, oh man, I would have lost respect for if he would have left.

Alex Briggs:

I'm like that doesn't make any sense whatsoever, like you're going to lose respect for me because I'm getting medical help, like you know, ah, you're fine, you know you have all your limbs, you're good. So sometimes that's the mentality amongst veterans is, yeah, there's someone worse, there's someone that experienced something worse. But I think we all go through our our own journeys of of our injuries and and there's so many people that have wounds you can't see, like brain injuries and PTSD, that you never really know what's going on.

Scott McLean:

And it never goes away, like it took me 21 years 21 years, yeah To say hey, you know. And it took us older veterans, because there's a group of us that we were stationed together in the Philippines and we meet almost every year and over the years we get softer, yeah. Or, as I say, even the hardest piece of granite cracks on the inside. Eventually, yeah, you just don't see it. Yeah, on the inside, eventually, you just don't see it. And we really convinced each other as a group to start going to the VA and looking into this and most of us realized we had some issues.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, it's crazy to me. I mean, in fact, just last week I was talking to one of my friends who was a crew chief on Blackhawks during some major conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and he would always check up on me when I was deployed. And last week he was telling me he's like hey, just to let you know, I finally got help for my PTSD this last year and I've never been happier. And he started to explain to me that he even had thoughts of oh well, alex had it way worse. He got blown up. So I have all my limbs, so I'm good. Who am I to have these issues? Because so-and-so had this right and I even did the same thing.

Alex Briggs:

Eventually got medevaced out to joint base lewis mccord because I was still having so many issues. I had tremors, I could hardly speak half the time, especially when I was tired, and uh ended up talking to one of my buddies named ren murray. He was a green beret with the 19th group special forces group and, uh, he was opening up a hyperbaric chamber therapy uh location. And I remember talking to him and I was like, nah, I'm not that bad. Like yeah, there's someone else that could use it more, and he's like I was in your shoes, like trust me you, you need this, like you're worthy of it. Trust me you, you need this, like you're worthy of it. Like don't belittle your injuries and get some help, you know.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is amazing. Yeah, it really is amazing.

Alex Briggs:

It changed my life, 100% changed my life.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, no doubt. So where are you now with all this?

Alex Briggs:

yeah. So through my my journey of going through all of this and experiencing what I experienced and unfortunately I worked with some military doctors that I didn't didn't, uh, didn't like I guess some of the messages that were coming across you know like I was I met with one doctor and he's like tell me about your injury. And I was like, well, day one it wasn't that bad. Adrenaline was crazy. Day two and three were hell. I really felt like my head was going to explode. I was dry, heaving, couldn't stand up. And he showed me a chart and he said well, according to this chart, day two and day three you're supposed to be getting better. So you know, I don't know if what you're telling me is completely true. So I had to go through a lot of things like that, right, like even getting people to like believe you that you're experiencing some of the symptoms you're experiencing?

Alex Briggs:

And that's when I had talked to Ren Murray, ceo of Revival Hyperbarics, and decided to leave Joint Base Lewis-McChord and get help on my own and he was still in the process of opening up their facility.

Alex Briggs:

So it took a few months to get seen. But then I ended up going to Revival Hyperbarics in Utah and did 50 dives and I remember on the fifth day of diving I looked at my hands and they weren't shanking anymore. These were all symptoms I was trying to hide from my friends because I didn't want them to worry or I didn't want them to think less of me. Yeah, I was putting up with insane migraines, taking more ibuprofen and acetamphetamine than I should in a day and drinking more caffeine than I should in a day, and after those 50 dives, I finally felt like a person again, like and I just remember like being in my car and I, like I start crying and I'm like I I don't even remember what it's like to feel emotions right, like I had been so numb for so long that I forgot what it was like to to be a person.

Scott McLean:

So yeah, you know, I have my foundation one man, one mike, but the president of my board of directors is she runs, uh, the 22 project down here in boca raton, yeah, and it's hyperbaric oxygen therapy and very, very impressive young lady and she loves what she does and she explained to me that everything that you just said. She said they do all the scans prior and then everything afterwards and she reads the data to them and it validates, yeah, it validates all those emotions, all those feelings, all the doubt, all the stigma that you think you might have. It validates everything and it says this I'm just going to say it this is fucking real.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, exactly.

Scott McLean:

You know, and that's amazing. Yeah, you know, you got your answers. Yeah, and there's always more questions than answers in this world. Totally, I know that. I know that. I know that. So at one point you decided, you know what, I'm just going to be a total lunatic and start my own nonprofit, exactly Like you don't have enough, like you don't have enough going on. So tell us how that was born.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah. So first of all, ren and patrick at revival hyper barracks they changed my life. I credit them to like saving my life essentially. And there's so many people out there that need help that one don't feel like it's for them, or two, they don't know where to go, or two or three, they can't afford it. And talking to Ren and Patrick as I was going through these dives, I spent hours and hours and hours with them.

Alex Briggs:

Patrick, also a Navy veteran. He was a rescue swimmer for the Navy. I was like I want to do something Like, if I can go from being so numb to feeling like a person again, I want to help other people do the same and not to bag on any other nonprofits. But I happened to talk to a couple people as I was looking into this and I felt like there's quite a few people that were in it for the money and unfortunately, there's a lot of nonprofits that generate a good amount of income and unfortunately there's a lot of nonprofits that generate a good amount of income and you can get some people on the board that are just looking for an extra paycheck and it turned me off to a few of them. I'm not going to name names or anything like that.

Alex Briggs:

I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm going to start my own and help the people in Idaho, help the people in Utah, help anyone I can to experience what I experienced, and so you know I still have a career, I still have a civilian job, but I've got a great board now. We've got two green berets. We've got a guy that's in the crypto market that's going to try to help us get to some crypto investors that are looking for some tax incentives and also want to help people, and then we've got another person on our board that went to Northwestern, one of the best therapy colleges in the country. It's going to help us on the mental health side. So we've got a killer, killer board of amazing people and I feel like we're going to help some first responders, help some veterans get the help they need. What is your mission statement? It's a great question. It's to nurture healing, bolster resilience and build community through tailored programs, vital resources and education.

Scott McLean:

Well, done my friend. Yeah, you got to learn your own mission statement, yeah Right.

Alex Briggs:

We want to help people through, get the medical attention that they need and we want to educate people on what veterans go through, what first responders go through, because I guarantee there's so many people right there's no shrapnel damage to me for the most part, right, like I was fine. But in the long run I want to start a podcast. Bring in other Purple Heart veterans and get them to tell their story of recovery, their story of PTSD, their story of traumatic brain injuries and get their voices heard so that they can heal and then also they can feel inspired to get the help they need themselves.

Scott McLean:

So Buddy, I was going to ask you the big question on top of starting your own nonprofit why would you want to be a podcaster? You and I already know why. We're going to be talking to each other a lot in the very, very near future. You're an admirable guy man, so you don't want to knock any nonprofits, nor do I, right? I'll never knock somebody for starting a podcast. Yeah, I'll never knock anybody for starting a nonprofit. What I can knock is the content of your podcast and how you do it, but the fact that people start 100% for going through what you go through to start a nonprofit and all the power to you how you move it forward. Well, that can be open to criticism, and no nonprofit is perfect, yeah, of course, but I like to think that there is way more good out there than not so good Totally, and so many people have great intentions.

Alex Briggs:

Yes, I've been very much inspired by the people that I've interacted with, the people that I've met. There's so many good people out there that want to help. Yes, and I hope I can be an avenue for that in the future as well. Right, Partnering up with other nonprofits and and getting the word out you know for for the treatments that are out there that can change people's lives.

Scott McLean:

Absolutely, and for the people that are listening, Alex is going to be my first veteran in my One man, One Mic Foundation and I don't think I could have run into or well, you found me, in a sense, a better candidate to go through this Because I already know you have the commitment to do this podcast, not because it's just a podcast, but the topic of your podcast.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah.

Scott McLean:

You know, that's why I started mine is I wanted more veterans to know about nonprofits because I didn't know anything about it, and the people that listen to the podcast hear me say it all the time it's. It just becomes redundant, but I can't say it enough. When I got into this world of nonprofits through Herd Foundation and I went to these outreach events in 60, 70 nonprofits and I'm like where the hell did they all come from? Yeah, it's such a there's such a world of them out there that nobody like veterans, like me, didn't know about them because, well, no one told us about them and you know, there wasn't even a hint, it wasn't even a whiff, Totally, that they were around. So that's why I do this podcast. I want to promote your nonprofit, even though you're in Utah, right? Yes, correct? Yes, I've interviewed a guy from Illinois last week. I will interview anybody to uplift them and put them out there, and that's my goal and your goal is seems to be the same thing.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, no you really want to dig in and help the veterans that went through what you went through.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, and I can't thank you enough, scott, for having me on here and being able to trust me. This is my pleasure Talk just a little bit about my story and about what we hope to do, and you know we're still in the beginning stages of starting this nonprofit.

Scott McLean:

I honestly know you're almost done with it. You're almost done with it, trust me. It's going to come faster than you think, right. I'm going, I you know when our board was getting together you know, I told them.

Alex Briggs:

I was like I'm going to be honest with you. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know we have a group good group of people here and we're going to kill it because so let's talk a little.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, let's talk a little about that. So you decide you want to start a nonprofit and I fortunately had a little bit of insight because I'm involved with one. I became involved with Herd Foundation and I'm on the board of directors, and so I got a little insider information. Not that that speeds the process up, that's all luck Whenever your paperwork hits their desk type thing right, yeah, everybody I've interviewed have been established nonprofits.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah.

Scott McLean:

Right, and they're years in some, five years in three, 10, 15 years in right, and maybe, maybe they forget that day. The light went on and they said I want to do this. So what was the very first thing you did?

Alex Briggs:

and they said I want to do this. So what was the very first thing you did? Luckily I had met Ren and Patrick at Revital Hyperbarics and luckily they know some awesome people. With Ren being a Green Beret, patrick, having his connections in the diving community, got some names of some potential people that could be on the board. Like I mentioned before, we have two Green Berets. Both of them are pretty much finishing up their 20 years of service and retiring here pretty soon, so got in contact with them. They both served with Wren and the 19th group here in Utah and then just met some other people.

Alex Briggs:

Actually, one of the board members that's an expert in the mental health side is actually my brother-in-law, so that worked out great. And then, uh, also met steven, who's in the crypto industry awesome person, you know. He's well established in his career, doing great on his civilian side, you know, you know, doing great for himself. And here's someone that wants to volunteer and give back and and help out right they're. They're not in it for for money, they're not in it for for fame or anything. They just want to help people and that's I think that was the starting part that got me motivated and pumped, and you know, cause that was the first thing that we had to do is is get a board together. You can't start a nonprofit if you don't have a board Right.

Scott McLean:

Right, and you're going to learn this too, if you haven't already. But there's a phrase that I use and again I'm being repetitive to the listeners, but it's, it's true. You're going to run into a lot of people that are going to say to you, if you haven't already, they're going to say oh, you know, I love him, but I didn't serve. Oh yeah, what I say to them is you didn't serve, but you're serving those who served, which to you and me, my friend, is extremely important.

Alex Briggs:

Oh 100%.

Scott McLean:

So there's that side of downplaying. Right Now it's not TBI or PTSD related, it's like, no, but you are serving, yeah, you're helping me. So I did my 10 years, but these people that I work with in Herd Foundation and the people that I run into that help veterans, they're going to be serving with me for the rest of my life, hopefully.

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, like I mentioned before Dan and Steven on our board. You know they're not prior service. Dan he you know he did ROTC in high school always was very appreciative of the military. For medical reasons he couldn't join. And you know, steven, just an amazing patriotic person just wanting to give back. So there's awesome people out there. You don't have to have been in the military or in any capacity to help in nonprofits. There's so many ways you can contribute and give back as well.

Scott McLean:

Absolutely. So what's the name of the podcast going to be? I guess I'm tipping our head in what you and I are going to be doing, but we can get a job on it.

Alex Briggs:

What the hell? Probably we'll just, we'll keep going with the name of the nonprofit Silent Wounds and Warriors podcast. There you go, you know, with the name Silent Wounds, yeah Things you can't see that people are suffering from Absolutely.

Scott McLean:

So and we're going to be talking about that when you go through the one man, one mic, it's the Pod Lab. That's the name. I call it the Pod Lab. I like it. So when you go through the Pod Lab, we're going to talk about name and branding and all the good stuff that goes with this. I'm excited.

Alex Briggs:

So is there anything else? Starting this nonprofit can help a couple more people that were in similar situations as me. I'm happy. I'd love to send them to Revival Hyperbarics exactly where I went through. Their protocols are exactly what you should be doing. Patrick's been doing this, I think, for 20 years of diving experience. They know what they're doing. Just hoping I can you know.

Scott McLean:

Oh, you will. Yeah, I'm sure you will. Yeah, you seem to be determined. So, other nonprofits have you talked to any as far as maybe looking at like getting advice from them, or is this something you just kind of said? You know what? I'll just ride it out on my own and yeah, that's a good question.

Alex Briggs:

I haven't really worked with other nonprofits yet I'd like to. I think I haven't really worked with other nonprofits yet I'd like to. I think, unfortunately, with my personality, it's not a good quality.

Scott McLean:

I rarely ask for help.

Alex Briggs:

I don't like inconveniencing people, which I need to get over. People want to help, people want to contribute, so I need to get over that. Not that I want to take advantage of anyone or anything, but that's just my personality. If I'm going to do something and I hope, I hope the people we interact with don't have the same feelings I do of I don't want to inconvenience them. Right, you're always, you're always going through that in your head. It's, it's impossible.

Scott McLean:

You and me are a lot alike, my friend. We are a lot alike in that respect. Yeah, I just want to help people. Man, there's something. It's just such a beautiful feeling when you can do that, you know, yeah, but it's like hey, do you need help? No, I got this.

Alex Briggs:

I got it.

Scott McLean:

No, no, I can do this. And me I'm like damn, yeah, I wish I got some help here?

Alex Briggs:

No, 100%, I don't know. It's that's how I've been since I was. I was younger, you know, yeah, yeah.

Scott McLean:

Well, alex, I got to say man again, I said it earlier You're an impressive guy. Thanks, scott. You have the, the drive, you have the motivation, you have the passion, which is something that you really need more than anything in a nonprofit. And you have the passion and you're going to do well. Your nonprofit is going to flourish. And so you know now that you've been on my podcast, like you're my friend now, so you stuck with me and that's all there is to that.

Alex Briggs:

That's a good thing though.

Scott McLean:

Oh, I'm a good friend to have. Oh yeah, you need me to fly out there and take care of something I got you buddy. Oh, that's great. You don't even have to ask me for help.

Alex Briggs:

How's that?

Scott McLean:

Yeah. So, Alex, if people listening want to get in touch with you or get in touch with your foundation, how can they reach you?

Alex Briggs:

Yeah, that's a great question. So I will say again, as we mentioned before, we're still in the very beginning stages of all this. We should have a website up and going here pretty quick. I already have the domain for it. It'll be silentwoundsandwarriorscom. If you want to reach me by email, it's alexbriggs at silentwoundsandwarriorscom. It's spelled how it's sound A-L-E-X-B-R-I-G-G-S and the and in silentwoundsandwarriorscom is actually spelled out.

Alex Briggs:

I've got a phone number for our nonprofit. If you want to reach out to me that way. It's 801-459-3770. Feel free to text me, call me, and I want to help. So if you're a veteran that needs help, that's suffering from PTSD, that's suffering from PTSD, that's suffering from symptoms of traumatic brain injury, let me know how I can help you. And I also have some thoughts of what I could do to help you get the help that you need with hyperbarics and the therapy that we can help you get. So we're here to help Reach out to me and we'll do what we can. And you're out in Utah? Yeah, yes, out in Utah Again, still in the beginning stages, but I'm sure we'd be willing to fly someone out here to get treatment here, all of that kind of stuff. So don't be afraid, if you don't live in Utah, don't live in the vicinity. We'll help you.

Scott McLean:

Excellent, excellent. So Alex doesn't know this yet. I didn't mention this to him before the podcast, but I did mention that he's. He's my first participant in the one man one Mike foundation. He's going to be going through the pod lab and he's going to learn all about podcasting and storytelling, because storytelling in itself, research has shown, has an amazing effect on people with PTSD and TBI, and that's to be discussed later, alex. But what you don't know is I need your help. All right, I need your help, okay, and this is where you're going to come in handy. All right, okay, so I do this. This is about my 20th episode. I interview nonprofits and I love to, as I said, uplift them and promote them, and this is your infomercial right. But now that I have my own nonprofit, I don't have anybody to interview me.

Alex Briggs:

I certainly can't interview myself right. We'll have you on the podcast.

Scott McLean:

Well, what I'm thinking is. What I'm thinking is Alex is going to sit in as a guest host on the Vets Connection podcast and you're going to interview me 100%. You're going to get the big chair Learn from the best%. You're going to get the big chair Learn from the best. You're going to get the big chair that episode buddy, and we're not going to tell anybody when it's going to happen. They're just going to tune in one Monday morning and they're going to hear I'm Alex Briggs, welcome to the podcast.

Alex Briggs:

Yes, yes, totally there you go.

Scott McLean:

My guest today is Scott McClain. Yes, totally there you go. My guest today is Scott McClain, founder and CEO of One man, one Mic Foundation. And then you're going to grill me with questions.

Alex Briggs:

I like it. You better be ready, Scott. I'm going to come with the great questions.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, I know right, is this where the students can outdo the teacher, right? I would love that, actually, I would love that. Going to outdo the teacher, right, I would love that, actually I would love that. So one of these days they're going to tune in and you will be interviewing me on the Vets Connection podcast. So there you go. I love that Absolutely. Better be a good student, all right.

Alex Briggs:

I will, I'll study.

Scott McLean:

Well, listen, we built another bridge today. If you like the episode, share it. I'd appreciate that. Alex would appreciate that. Hit the like button. Give us a good review, on whatever platform you're listening on. If you want to be a guest on the podcast, if you're a nonprofit working in the veteran space and you want to promote your nonprofit, well, you can get in touch with me at the Vets Connection podcast at gmailcom. You can check out the website at vetsconnectpodcastcom and please listen to the end. There's a public service announcement. It's only about 30 seconds long or so, but it's got some valuable information that you might either use or you could pass on to somebody. So, with that said, as I always say, you won't hear me next Monday, you'll hear a new episode next Monday.

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Scott McLean

Host