January 05, 2021

New year; newer, edgier Tango Alpha Lima podcast

By The American Legion
News

The weekly American Legion podcast, now available Tuesday mornings, welcomes Student Veterans of America CEO Jared Lyon.

A new year means a newer, more dynamic Tango Alpha Lima, The American Legion’s weekly podcast for veterans, servicemembers and other patriots. Among the changes: episodes will be released earlier in the week, now available for download by 9 a.m. Eastern each Tuesday.

On Jan. 5, the second season of Tango Alpha Lima debuted, featuring Jared Lyon, the president and CEO of Student Veterans of America. Lyon, a Navy veteran, talks about how the Legion helped bring SVA to life, a landmark study SVA conducted related to the GI Bill and more.

“If it wasn’t for The American Legion, Student Veterans of America wouldn’t exist,” Lyon said, noting the work of a Michigan Legionnaire and how the Legion granted SVA space in its D.C. office as it started.

He also discusses how The American Legion-authored GI Bill has evolved throughout its nearly 77-year history to serve today’s warriors.

“The GI bill has been going on for 75 years, and it’s kind of assumed that it will be going on forever,” he said. “Fast forward to the events of Sept. 11, and our generation, which has served in the longest period of sustained combat in our nation’s history. Fun fact, it has been served mostly by millennials. So if anyone gives millennials a bad rap, they are pretty bad ass, in my opinion. ”

Tango Alpha Lima, which debuted in April 2020, is hosted by American Legion members Mark Seavey, Jeff Daly and Ashley Gorbulja-Maldonado. Each week a new episode features the three post 9/11 veterans exploring current events, interesting trends and quirky stories of interest to the military community.

If you missed any of the three dozen episodes from the first season, they are available in both audio and video formats here. Among the highlights from the first season:

• Episode 29: “The advice that I would give to people is to take it (COVID-19) seriously. The reality is that this thing can hit you pretty hard.” — Kermit Jones, an American Legion member, Navy veteran and physician

• Episode 14: “I got a chance to help a few women who were entering the military and it filled me up to be someone who could be a touchpoint for them.” — Amanda Huffman, Air Force veteran and Women of the Military podcast host

• Episode 12: “Everybody is out to die for someone they don’t know.” — retired Navy SEAL Team Six senior chief Justin Sheffield says of his fellow team members.

 

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