Stepping off the Brow

They helped you get to know Navy families with encouraging stories; join the Stepping off the Brow hosts as they share their own. In this episode Chaplains Christina Mauntel (CVW-7) and Jeremy Selitto (NSA South Potomac) interview each other about their family dynamics and some of the challenges experienced in COVID.

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What do you do when someone’s struggles are no longer a secret? If they go in-patient for mental health, will their career be over? What happens to the dreams that brought them into the military? In the second part of his interview a Navy pilot shares with the Stepping off the Brow hosts about his experience getting help in-patient for suicide ideations, battling fears of stigma and shame and then coming back to work among his peers. Hear how he goes from a dangerous spiral to what he calls the “greatest feeling of my life”.

Have you ever tried to help someone in crisis? Did you feel overwhelmed just hearing how they were overwhelmed? Do only “the weak” experience a mental health crisis? What if you could sit down with a strong, healthy individual back from an overwhelming period? Join the Stepping off the Brow hosts as we talk with a Navy pilot who recounts the events and circumstances that led up to a dark and overwhelming place for him. You can push back against the stigma of help seeking as you learn from his struggle to do the same.   

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

Here is one you don't want to miss. When you have a terminal illness what do you tell yourself to make it through the hard days? What are the range of emotions you and your family experience? How can you help your kids process something as heavy as a terminal illness? In Part 2 of this poignant and sometime silly interview, a Navy family shares how they are navigating the Navy life with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

How does a Sailor navigate a loved one’s serious illness and work requirements? How do you transition from a normal, going-with-the-flow life to staring down a life threatening disease?  In a refreshingly light but poignant episode, a CWO3 and his wife share their journey from early marriage to life with Multiple Sclerosis. They give the practical and sometimes messy ways they make it work in Part 1 of their Stepping off the Brow interview.  

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What are some of the trade offs single parents have to make as Sailors? What advice would a single parent Chief, who was a single parent early in her career, offer to single parents early in their career? Join us for Part 2 of our Stepping off the Brow interview with Chief Fire Controlman Aegis Gonzalez. This is a great episode for single parents to hear common struggles and leaders to hear how to support this group of Sailors.  You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What do you get when you mix single parenting with a career as a Sailor? You get quite the challenge. How do you take care of your child, pay for childcare and fulfill the demands of this Navy life? Today’s episode is part one of our interview with FCA Chief Gonzalez. Listen in as she shares her story of coming in the Navy and her experience as a young petty officer and mother. We hope this episode gives other single parents strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

You can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

How do you go from "steely-eyed, ready-to-run into a wall of bullets if needed" to someone ready to see the hope in others when they can’t? You start as a Master at Arms (e.g. Navy Police Officer) and then you fall in love with helping Sailors struggling with addiction. In this very first interview recorded for Stepping off the Brow we meet the infectious spirit of MA1 Reddix, who brings over ten years of insight, wisdom and positivity to a fun interview.   

Recommended app “COVID Coach”  

You can also find this on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What do you do when the world changes drastically but your severely exceptional family member needs consistency? What are some tips and resources a military family can use to make military life better?  How does a marriage stay grounded in the middle of so many added stressors? Join us today for part two of our conversation with LCDR Josh and Anne Earls of SUBRON SIX as they share what so many parents of exceptional family members experience to make service in the Navy work.  

You can also find this on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What is it like in the unique world of Navy families with exceptional family members? If we all have it hard to one degree or another, what would an EFMP family say about it? If everyone looks forward to parenting healthy kids, what do you do when your expectations get rocked? Join us today for part one of our conversation with LCDR Josh and Anne Earls of SUBRON SIX as they share what so many parents of exceptional family members experience to make service in the Navy work.

You can also find this on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

It's not easy to make big changes. Something has to motivate you. What motivated an Army Soldier to go into medicine and the Navy? How is it different and what does he think about it now? What's up with the call sign "Not Doc"? And in a timely moment, what are some of his insights on COVID-19 and the vaccine?  

You can also find this at Https://Anchor.Fm/Steppingoffthebrow or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

What do you do when you join the military with a goal in mind, but it looks different when you get there? What do you do when people in charge make decisions about your career that seem contrary to where you wanted it to go? LT Jason “Not Doc” Palmer started out as an enlisted Army Soldier and shared with Stepping off the Brow about these exact experiences. In part 1 of his interview see how many ways your life can connect with his: small town kid, enlisted with hopes and dreams, but life had other plans.

How can you endure challenges that seem unending, like COVID or deployment?  What can you do to stay grounded day-to-day and not get swept up in the constant tide of stressors trying to carry you away. CDR Chandra Newman of HSC-5 shares in Part 2 of her Stepping off the Brow interview lessons learned you can apply to your life as a Sailor or family member for growth and daily strength. Our hosts also give us a fresh “Off the cuff” segment and interview three other guests for the “Sweet and Sour” segment.

How does a girl from the country go from enlisted Sailor to pilot and now to Squadron Commanding Officer? What do you do if the path you think you are on takes turns for the unknown? CDR Chandra Newman of HSC-5 shares in Part 1 of this Stepping off the Brow interview her approach to life when circumstances beyond her control tried to derail her dream.

We can’t wait for the end of deployment and our Service Member comes home, but is that a stress free experience? What are the challenges to homecoming and reintegration? What if your spouse changed during deployment? Check out our interview with Mike and Stephanie, a dual military couple who make life in the Navy work.

What if your Sailor could know what it is like for you as you are home as the spouse? What if your spouse at home could know what it is like for you as a Sailor away on workups or deployment? Dual military couples can answer this for you. Check out our interview with Mike and Stephanie, a dual military couple who make life in the Navy work.

Do Sailors from difficult circumstances have a chance to make it in the Navy? What motivates a successful Sailor? Chief Hospital Corpsman Baodi Ngo of Navy Medicine Training Support Center in San Antonio, Texas shares in Part 2 of this Stepping off the Brow interview some of the challenges he and his family face and his mindset to overcome them. In this episode we also have fresh "Off the Cuff" and "Sweet and Sour" segments.

What motivates a successful Sailor? Do Sailors from difficult circumstances have a chance to make it in the Navy? Chief Hospital Corpsman Baodi Ngo of Navy Medicine Training Support Center in San Antonio, Texas shares in Part 1 of this episode of Stepping off the Brow the extraordinary challenges he and his family had to overcome as immigrants fleeing to the United States and making a new life here.

What is it like on a first deployment? What are some experiences a Sailor might not see coming? Airman Stephen Martinez-Aguillar of VAW-121 shares in Part 2 the continuation of his story. He shares how you can take something hard and make it into something good? Stepping off the Brow hosts also give us our first “Off the cuff” segment and interview two special guests for the “Sweet and Sour” segment.

How does a first tour Sailor succeed in his first command? What experiences did he have that you would love to know before hand? In this first episode of Stepping off the Brow we interview first tour Airman Steven Martinez-Aguillar of VAW-121. He shares his story and what life is like in the first two years in the US Navy.

Who do you know that walks off the ship's brow? Is it you coming to and from work in the US Navy? Is it your loved one that steps on and off the brow? What if you could meet and be encouraged by other Navy Sailors and families navigating the Navy life? Check out this short trailer for a new podcast that introduces you to others doing their best, making you smile, and occasionally getting it right.