Army National Guard veteran Joshua Parish talks about his military service, tools such as the Battle Buddy app he has developed to help veterans navigate benefits and more in this week’s episode of the Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
Michigan Army National Guard veteran Joshua Parish’s personal journey through military service and reintegration helped shape his mission: to make sure no veteran is left behind.
Raised on a Native American reservation by a single mom, he helped take care of his five younger siblings from a young age.
“The onus has always been on me to take care of people,” said Parish, a member of American Legion Post 141 in Howell, Mich. “If I have a character flaw, it would be that. I put too much on myself to take care of other people. I think I took that to the military too. I volunteered for every mission.”
His mission now is to serve veterans.
Parish is the co-founder and president of VETLIFE, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization he launched with his wife, Cortnie, to empower veterans and their families as they transition from military to civilian life.
In this week’s episode of the Tango Alpha Lima podcast, he talks about his service, inspiration to serve veterans and the tools he has developed including Battle Buddy, a mobile app.
Parish, who saw the 9/11 attacks unfold from a hospital where his son was born the day before, served as a combat engineer and took part in the initial invasion of Iraq.
“The transition — however you say ‘horrible’ in Spanish — that would be it,” he says, admitting that he turned to drinking. “I’m not ashamed to admit that because it really led me to meeting my wife and her getting me out of that dark spiral I was in. She took a piece of coal and molded into what she thought I could be. Without her, I would not be doing what I do today.”
Before founding his nonprofit organization, VETLIFE, he worked at both a county VA office and for the state of Michigan, where he saw firsthand the systemic barriers veterans often face when trying to access their benefits.
Together with Cortnie, Joshua has turned VETLIFE into a trusted resource for more than 143,000 veterans and dependents. He also led the creation of Battle Buddy, a mobile app built to streamline access to services, support mental health through its AI-powered Talk to Sam feature, and strengthen the overall transition experience for veterans and their families.
“I wanted to give veterans access to all their benefits using generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), using decision trees and bringing the resources down to the veteran. We try to empower the veteran to be their own best advocate when they want to gain access to their benefits and services.”
The Battle Buddy app, which has been downloaded more than 40,000 times, is designed to help veterans access resources, benefits, and mental health support in one centralized, easy-to-use platform.
“While we’ve leaned into technology and modern outreach, the mission remains the same: building connection, purpose and community for those who served,” he says.
Also, co-hosts Joe Worley and Stacy Pearsall chat about:
• A West Point grad’s out-of-this-world adventure 60 years ago.
• A solution to veteran homelessness in Los Angeles.
• The “mysterious poop chucker” in Colorado.
You can also check out the more than 300 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima