Alicia Freeman talks about equine therapy for veterans, her philanthropy that supports veteran causes, her family’s Wiley X protective eyewear company and more as the special guest on this week’s Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
It’s International Podcast Day! And our gift to you is a new episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast featuring Alicia Freeman, who supports veterans through equine therapy and other initiatives.
But first to celebrate, the co-hosts share their favorite episodes this year:
• Stacy Pearsall, while acknowledging it was hard to choose one from all the incredible guests, landed on Ken Burns. The renowned documentary filmmaker was a guest earlier this month in this episode, where he talked about his upcoming series “American Revolution,” his previous “Civil War” documentary and more.
• Joe Worley picked out the interview during national convention with Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation CEO Rod Rodriguez and Chief of Staff Jennifer Ballou. This week marks the debut of the new GWOT Memorial podcast, “Welcome Home.” The first of six episodes launches Thursday. But you can catch a sneak peek here.
Now, we want to hear from you!
What has been your favorite Tango Alpha Lima this year, and why? Let us know in a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you access your podcasts.
Now on to this week’s special guest.
Alicia Freeman has a long family history of military service, including her great-grandfather who was a horseback medic in World War I, her grandfather who earned a Purple Heart in World War II and her brother who served in the Navy in the early 90s.
Freeman and her husband, Myles, founded a philanthropy that supports veteran causes, including a partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. They took over leadership of Stay in the Fight Veterans Foundation in December 2024. They also own Wiley X, protective eyewear which has supported the military since 1987.
Her path to helping veterans started with her own mental wellness journey and equine therapy, which she has been doing since 2012.
“I’ve always had a passion for horses,” she says. “When I was going through a divorce, things were really ugly, and dealing with doctors, attorneys and judges, and all this stuff. I was in a pretty dark place and needed to do something.”
Freeman was at a small equine therapy place for some mental health therapy of her own. Her life changed when she saw the impact a horse could have on a boy who was confined to a wheelchair and could not speak.
“I was transformed that day.”
She immediately volunteered at the equine therapy center, which eventually led to her philanthropic commitment and support of veterans.
“When they come back, we need to give them a soft landing space,” she says. “We need to make that transition a little bit better because they have gone and done things on our behalf that we have asked them to do as a country, and it’s damaged them a little bit.”
Also in this episode Pearsall and Worley chat about:
• The decline of civic engagement.
• Music as a lifeline for deployed troops.
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