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The biggest military homecoming videos end with hugs and banners, but a lot of families know the harder chapter starts after the uniforms are folded and the photos stop. We sit down with Cathy Turner and Jackie Voytak, founders of the Restored Heart Collective, to talk about what reintegration really looks like when the spouse is quietly carrying anxiety, loneliness, and the constant pressure to keep everything functioning.

We trace both of their paths through military life: learning the culture as an outsider, navigating officer spouse expectations, dealing with unspoken rank boundaries, and the slow drift of putting your own needs last while trying to “support” a partner through PTSD and post-deployment stress. Then we dig into what actually helped, from intimate retreat spaces to nervous system practices like breathwork, meditation, journaling, yoga, sauna, and cold plunge. The point isn’t trends or buzzwords, it’s reclaiming stability and identity so the whole household can breathe again.

You’ll also hear how they turned one powerful retreat experience into a spouse-only 501(c)(3), why they chose the name Restored Heart Collective (inspired by kintsugi), and how their model builds community before and after a weekend retreat with structured Zoom calls and year-long follow-up. If you care about military spouse mental health, family readiness, and real-world healing support, this conversation offers a clear blueprint for what’s been missing.

Subscribe for more Stories of Service, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review telling us what kind of support military spouses should have had all along.

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Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better!

A single bad week can define a leader, especially when the whole country is watching and the information is incomplete. Former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly joins us for a candid, detailed conversation about what it’s like to make consequential decisions at the highest levels of Navy leadership and the Department of Defense, then live with the second-guessing long after the moment has passed.

We start with his Cleveland upbringing as the child of Eastern European immigrants, his path through the Naval Academy, and a career that blends military aviation, teaching, business leadership, and Pentagon service. From there, we get practical about change management inside enormous institutions: why bureaucracy resists innovation, how priorities vanish after leadership turnover, and why he believes longer terms for service secretaries could help sustain real defense reform. We also talk about military due process and what the Gallagher case revealed to him about investigative assumptions and the need for specialized expertise in laws of armed conflict cases.

Then we go to the most scrutinized moment: the USS Theodore Roosevelt COVID-19 outbreak. Modly explains how he processed risk, command breakdowns, crisis communication, and accountability, including the decision to relieve Captain Crozier and what he wishes he could have done differently face to face with the crew. We close with a clear-eyed look at naval strategy and shipbuilding, including what the 355-ship goal actually measures, why industrial base capacity matters more than slogans, and how workforce shortages can become a national security constraint.

If you value thoughtful leadership lessons, Navy history that’s still unfolding, and honest reflection without the partisan filter, subscribe, share this conversation, and leave a review so more listeners can find Stories of Service.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better!

The VA isn’t just a healthcare system. It’s a national promise that follows service members from the day they leave uniform through specialty care, benefits decisions, and finally a dignified burial with perpetual care. I sat down with the Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin, the ninth Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to talk about what it’s like to carry that responsibility at scale and to lead through the kind of pressure most leaders never face.

We get into the VA wait time crisis and the leadership moves required to fix access fast, including why clear priorities beat endless consensus when delays can become life-or-death. Dr. Shulkin also shares the moment early in his VA tenure that changed how he saw the mission: some veterans need a system built for complex behavioral health, substance use treatment, rehabilitation, and service-connected injuries that the private sector often isn’t structured to handle. That’s why he argues against full VA privatization and for a hybrid model that protects VA expertise while using community care when it truly helps veterans.

We also tackle veterans benefits and disability claims, including why “fraud” is often a predictable outcome of a complex, adversarial process that forces veterans to prove what the government should already know. We talk DD214 barriers, classified service documentation, and why a unified DoD and VA electronic health record could remove huge friction for veterans navigating VA healthcare and VA benefits. Finally, we discuss public accountability, media transparency, leadership stability, and why memorial affairs is an overlooked part of what makes the VA unique.

If you care about VA reform, veteran care, disability claims, or the future of community care, hit play, share this conversation with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. After listening, will you argue for a stronger VA, a bigger private-sector role, or a true hybrid system?

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily re

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76