The Overwatch Collective Podcast

In this episode of the Overwatch Collective podcast, host Greg Grogan speaks with Thomas LaGrave, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who shares his journey from a troubled childhood and military service to overcoming addiction and finding purpose in helping others. Thomas discusses his experiences in the military, the challenges of transitioning to civilian life, and the importance of therapy and education in recovery. 

He emphasizes the need ...

In this episode of the Overwatch Collective Podcast, Greg Grogan speaks with Michael 'Chappy' Chappell about his military experiences, the transition to civilian life, and his work with the Arizona Trail Association's VETS program. 

They discuss the importance of community support for veterans, the therapeutic benefits of nature, and the ongoing challenges of mental health awareness and suicide prevention within the v...

In this episode of the Overwatch Collective Podcast, host Greg Grogan speaks with Ben and Cindy about their journey through military service, mental health challenges, and the impact of substance misuse. Ben, a former U.S. Navy Corpsman, shares his experiences with PTSD and the struggles he faced after leaving the military. Cindy provides insight into her perspective as a spouse, recognizing the signs of Ben's struggles and su...

Listen in as Marty and Chris give a full breakdown of Trident K9 Consulting, which was founded in 2015 and provides a plethora of training with several agencies in Northern California in addition to auditing across the Country. 

We talk about the stress of training they provide to new Officers as they transition into K9 handlers on the road and at the home front. In addition, we discuss the different types of K9 training and their m...

Tune into a fun and random in person podcast with Jonah and Rene, two fellow U.S. Coast Guard service members. This episode was recorded in a hotel room while on the East Coast on active duty orders so the audio/video may not be the best, but the topic of conversation is all we care about. 

Jonah and Rene share some great insight on what life is like in the U.S. Military Reserves while maintaining a full time career and families. In...

Coming to you from Sydney Australia is Retired Sergeant Major Max Garcia, who served honorably in the United States Marine Corps for 24 years. Sgt. Major shares some wild stories from his combat deployments, gives us a different perspective on mental health coming from higher enlisted, and honors a few friends and Marines who unfortunately died by suicide. 

Sgt. Major Garcia is continuing his service to our community as a motivation...

Tune in to listen to Jessica Cowick, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who is a contracted therapist with The Overwatch Collective based out of Florida. Jessica is licensed in Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

Listen in as Jessica discusses her service in the U.S. Army, co-parenting with an active duty service member, and what therapy would look like if you were to work with her.

You can learn more by heading to her website: Cowick...

Paul and Dakota have both been in EMS for over 10 years in Southern California and are currently partners on an ambulance. In this episode, they discuss some of the fun parts of working on an ambulance in addition to some of the challenges. 

Paul disclosed some personal family struggles, which ultimately caused him to realize he was burned out and needed to work on himself in therapy. After recognizing that therapy was beneficial, P...

Thank you to Chad for joining The Overwatch Collective Podcast after getting connected through Veterans_Up! Chad served in the United States Marine Corps as an 0311, infantry rifleman. Chad started his USMC career in active duty and then transitioned to the reserves so he could partake in a deployment to Afghanistan. 

Chad discusses his deployments overseas and the common challenges we see in our military community such as stigma, l...

Tune into this episode to learn about Alison Fienning, one of The Overwatch Collective's contracted therapists who is licensed in Ohio, Kentucky, Florida, & Arizona. Alison has been a therapist for over 12 years and specializes in working with our first responder community. 

Alison is embedded with several first responder departments after founding Pinpoint Behavioral Health Solutions based in Ohio. Alison provides a break ...

Joining today is Natalie Montenegro, a T.O.C. contracted therapist in California. Natalie has been a therapist for over 18 years and specializes in working with our first responder community. Natalie is also married to a Law Enforcement Officer in California and her sister is a Dispatcher. 

In this episode, Natalie touches on what therapy looks like working with her, the importance of conducting debriefings post critical incidents, ...

Thank you to Brian Laurence for joining the podcast virtually from Northern California! Brian served 3 years in the U.S. Army followed by 30 years in law enforcement, where he retired as a Lieutenant. 

Once retired, Brian focused on become a licensed marriage and family therapist in order to continue serving the community, specializing in our first responder and military community. Brian breaks down his prior experience, how he&apos...

Tune in to listen to Melissa Cavanaugh, one of T.O.C.'s contracted therapists as she discusses life as a military spouse as her husband is a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy. Also, Melissa is a therapist who specializes in working with children whose mother and/or father are in the U.S. Military and are deployed. 

Melissa is licensed in California, Maine, Louisiana, Washington, & Washington DC. 

Learn some of the common strugg...

Joining via zoom from Northern California is Joshua Fernandez. After spending four years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman with a deployment overseas, he switched to the Army National Guard for three years. 

After discharging from the military, he unfortunately lost several friends to suicide in addition to a suicide attempt. Joshua touched on the lack of resources and the challenges of discharging from the military. 

After some cha...

Thank you to Trevor Ellis for joining T.O.C.'s Podcast! Trevor was a U.S. Marine for 10 years where he spent 6 years flying the MV-22 Osprey and did two combat deployments. After flying the Osprey, Trevor found himself working with the grunts on the ground. 

Trevor touches on the challenges of seeking mental health assistance while being. pilot, losing two fellow Marines to suicide, the fun and dangers of flying the MV-22 Ospre...

Thanks to Nick Abeyta for joining T.O.C.'s Podcast. Nick and Greg met in Camp Fuji, Japan, while on their deployment with 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines. Thankfully, they were able to stay in contact and Nick wanted to share about the challenges he and his wife faced during his deployment overseas after recently being married and his feedback on ketamine assisted therapy. 

Nick talks about the challenges of being deployed overseas ...

Very excited to get Nick McCarthy on the podcast. Nick and Greg worked together for about 10 years and have some great memories together. Nick shares his journey of joining Law Enforcement with his sole goal of becoming a Canine Handler. Once Nick and K9 Tyke just started to mesh well together and were ready for a great career together, one suspicious occupied vehicle check resulted in an Officer Involved Shooting. Nick was shot in...

In this first time ever solo episode, Greg opens up about the emotional weight that comes when tragedy strikes within our own ranks - when a line of duty death and/or critical incident hits close to home. These moments bring a unique kind of grief, stress, anxiety, and emotional turmoil that many in our community face, but few talk about. 

This episode is a raw and honest reminder that it's okay to not always be okay and to rea...