For some veterans, the hardest battle begins after the uniform comes off.
In the new season of WYSO's award-winning original series Veterans' Voices, Army veterans Dave Smith and Diamond Smith take listeners inside the realities of life after service for Veteran entrepreneurs in Ohio.
“It’s hard after being in the military for a long time,” Diamond said. “And then coming back and being like, oh my God—I’m regular again.”
Diamond joined the Army at 17 and served as a motor transport operator, one of the few roles at the time where women could be close to combat. Dave served in the Army as a presidential escort and aircraft electrician.
But like many veterans, neither expected the abruptness of their transition out of the military. Dave was med-boarded after a deployment to Afghanistan. Diamond’s separation wasn’t by choice either.
The veteran community I’ve met here is more my family than my family.Diamond Smith
“That in-between is what I want people to hear,” Dave said. “So that if they [veterans] are struggling, they know there’s light at the end of the tunnel and that they just have to keep digging.”
Through interviews with Veteran entrepreneurs, Dave and Diamond will explore what it's like to start your own business while transitioning out of the military.
“I wanted to humanize veterans to civilians,” Dave said.
“And to themselves,” Diamond said.
New episodes of Veterans Voices air every Wednesday at 7:44 a.m. and 5:44 p.m. on 91.3 WYSO FM and streaming on WYSO.org.
Veterans' Voices is supported by Wright-Patt Credit Union and the Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission. Veterans' Voices is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
