Latest / Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk / Oscar Mike Radio – 501 - Lena Rodriguez – Miss Veteran America

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Oscar Mike Radio – 501 - Lena Rodriguez – Miss Veteran America · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

0:05
Hello and welcome to OM Radio. My name is Travis, Marine Corps
0:09
veteran and your host OM Rios Co Producer, System 1 Productions.
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What's your podcast doing? I want to thank my sponsors,
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Joyce Asac of ASAC Real Estate, Danielle Rocco with E6 Creations
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and my supporters Case on Shaving Company, Exceptional
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We're starting Year 10 off with a bang.
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Things are going great, and my next guest embodies all of that.
0:40
You're going to learn about a different angle and aspect of
0:44
the best experience. It is with great pleasure that I
0:46
introduce Elena Rodriguez to OMOM Radio.
0:52
Lena, welcome to the show. Thank you so much.
0:55
I'm super excited to be here. Absolutely, absolutely.
0:58
So, you know, we got connected on LinkedIn and we started
1:02
trading some messages and then you're like, hey, I, I, I, I do
1:06
all this cool stuff in addition to my, my normal job.
1:10
I'm like, OK, tell me all about it.
1:12
And then I'm like, oh, wow, you mean you're, you're not the
1:14
typical, you know, veteran, female veteran.
1:17
And so I want to learn more about you, and that's why you're
1:20
here. But why don't you start off and
1:22
tell us, like who Lena was before she went in the military,
1:26
and we'll start there. OK, awesome.
1:29
Thank you. So my name's Lena Rodriguez.
1:31
I was born in Nevada, but I grew up in Utah in kind of a medium
1:36
sized town, Ogden, UT. And I was, unfortunately, I grew
1:40
up and was surrounded by a lot of drugs, alcohol that was just,
1:47
but was part of my family. And as I got older, like I
1:51
always just knew that I didn't want to be around that and
1:54
wanted to figure out a way to get away.
1:56
So I tried going to college for a couple years.
2:00
I went to Weber State University for a couple years.
2:01
That didn't work out for me. I just wasn't ready to focus on
2:04
college at the time. So then I decided to join the
2:07
Army. I joined a little bit later than
2:09
most people. I joined at the age of 23, but
2:12
it was the best decision that I've ever made in my life.
2:15
So yeah, that's how that was a little bit about me before.
2:20
I joined the Marine Corps when I was like 22 and, well, I was 21
2:24
and then turned 22 in boot camp. And there's a real gulf between
2:29
17 and 23, isn't there, Lena? Yes, there was for sure.
2:34
There were only a few of us who were my age.
2:37
A lot of them were younger. It was quite the experience
2:39
being surrounded by all the 18 year old young females.
2:42
You know, they had their little cliques.
2:44
All I really wanted to do was go to sleep after the long days,
2:49
stay off the radar of the drill Sergeant and do what I needed to
2:52
do to pass. And it was so hard to stay out
2:54
of drama. I mean, imagine 40 women stuck
2:58
in a room like it was, it was insane.
3:02
It was, it was really insane. So it was by the experience.
3:06
What did you get in the army? So in the Army, I originally
3:10
joined as a supply 92 Yankee. I did that for about, I want to
3:15
say four years, four years. I got really lucky.
3:18
So my first assignment was with the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade
3:23
that falls under use of sock at Fort Bragg.
3:25
So I got really lucky with that being my first assignment.
3:28
So I quickly learned that I love their mission for civil affairs.
3:33
And so as soon as I was promoted to Sergeant E5, I put in a
3:37
packet to become Civil Affairs. So I did that.
3:41
I did that route, went to Sears School, went to the Civil
3:47
Affairs qualification course, some Fort Bragg.
3:50
I graduated. Social affairs like public
3:52
relations and what? What's civil affairs, you know?
3:55
Forget about. So, yeah, so civil affairs.
3:57
So you have civil affairs and you have psyops and a lot of
4:00
people think they're kind of interchangeable, but they're
4:02
not. So psyops is more of the not
4:06
really public affairs, but they do like messaging, like their,
4:09
their mission, I guess is like messaging where ours is.
4:14
People like to say what, what is the, the saying Beanie Babies
4:18
and soccer balls. So while everything else is
4:20
going out on in the background, So we, we deploy what we get
4:23
attached to OD as the SF groups and they go out and they do
4:28
their thing and we hand out the Beanie babies in soccer balls
4:32
just to make sure that we try to keep the attention here while
4:34
that's going on over there. But they have a, a couple
4:39
different type submissions. I deployed with them when they
4:42
did the village stability operations in Afghanistan.
4:45
And then I also did a, what was it the Simcy, the Simcy mission
4:52
where I was in Africa, in Chad, Africa.
4:54
And we were like a liaison for the special operations teams
4:58
that came in and trained the, the forces out there.
5:01
So yeah, it was, it was a great, a great job.
5:05
We'd go around and do a lot of like civil information
5:07
management, meet with the the local hospitals, try to see what
5:11
we can do to help them. We would meet with the police
5:15
chief and just get information from the area.
5:21
Did you find what you were looking for in the army then?
5:24
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah.
5:26
I think that it definitely was like what I needed.
5:31
Like I was already like AI wouldn't say like a goody 2
5:35
shoes, but like I I like to follow rules, like rules like
5:39
really helped me like fine purpose.
5:42
So I think that it was like it was perfect for me and I was
5:46
always like. So after civil Affairs, I didn't
5:48
stop there. During my deployment to
5:50
Afghanistan, I put in a packet for green to gold.
5:53
So I did the green to gold active duty option and I
5:56
commissioned as a military intelligence officer and I did
6:00
that for three years. And then I wanted to try
6:05
something new and I found this message that they had for doing
6:08
a officer to ward officer program to become ACID agent.
6:11
So then I put in my pocket to become ACID agent and I ended up
6:14
retiring as a supervisory special agent for the Criminal
6:17
Investigations Division. So in a way, you really do have
6:21
the the the Army experience they talk about on TV and that they
6:25
talk to you about in the recruiting office where you can
6:27
kind of make the Army experience what you want to be.
6:29
Absolutely. If you follow the rules and do,
6:32
you're supposed to do. Yeah, yeah, absolutely It, it
6:35
was great. It I, I learned so much.
6:37
I experienced so many amazing things, good and bad.
6:40
But like that just made my journey its own and really
6:44
shaped me I think into to who I am.
6:46
So it was great for sure. So you did a full 20.
6:50
I did a full 20. You know, I always made it.
6:52
I always said I'm 20 and done. Like I'm not doing any more 20
6:54
and done. They got me with 20 in three
6:56
days. So you, you cut it close.
7:02
They didn't try, they didn't try to get you for like 2420 because
7:05
sometimes they do that, you know, like, hey, you can get,
7:09
you know, your, your pitching bumped up if you stay for 30.
7:11
And some people do that right. Yeah, they do.
7:14
They do. So, you know, like a few years
7:17
before I retired. So I retired as a CW3, Chief
7:20
Word Officer 3 and a few warrant officers before me.
7:24
I think they stopped the program, but they had a program
7:27
to retain warrant officers and they would offer you like a
7:31
$40,000 bonus to stay on for a few more years.
7:35
But I think towards the end of my career, I was just really
7:38
done. You know, in CID you see a lot.
7:41
I experienced a lot the last few years and I have a young son
7:45
that I really wanted to be more present if he's getting older,
7:48
so have not had. So yeah, I was, I mean, I could
7:53
have done some more, but I really wanted to just find
7:56
somewhere, settle and just move on to some something else.
7:59
Sure, sure. Yeah, but but overall a a very
8:02
successful, varied and you know, amazing Army career, no doubt
8:07
about. It absolutely, absolutely yes.
8:09
Well, then what was transition like once you go from being in
8:12
in, you know, in these high speed areas back to civilian
8:14
life? Oh, it was difficult.
8:19
You know, after going through all the transition anxiety like
8:22
that you have as you're getting out, figuring out what you're
8:24
going to do. I, my goal was to focus on I, I
8:29
knew I wanted to stay like in the criminal justice type system
8:34
and I worked on a paralegal degree.
8:36
So I was like, you know, I've, I've got that experience there.
8:37
I really like law, don't want to be a lawyer, but I want to stay
8:40
involved. So I worked on a paralegal
8:42
degree, but I found out quickly that I didn't have any
8:45
experience as a paralegal. And it's so hard to get a job
8:48
that you don't have experience in.
8:50
So, I mean, and I have a, I've done a lot of jobs throughout
8:52
the Army that do translate to the civilian world, but I know
8:55
there's a lot of people who don't have those jobs that
8:57
translate. So I just got really lucky while
9:00
I was transitioning, you know, with the new TAPS program.
9:02
I know a lot of people don't like it, the transition
9:04
assistance program, but I was able to meet somebody from the
9:07
company I work for now during one of the career fairs who
9:10
just, he was retired, He loved his life.
9:13
He loved the, the environment there that they offer the
9:16
employees. They have a / 25% of their
9:20
workforce are veterans. And I was able to get ADOD
9:24
Skillbridge internship with them and I ended up getting hired on
9:28
as a a, what we call a talent acquisition strategist.
9:33
But it's just a fancy name for a recruiter.
9:35
But. Just for the people out there,
9:38
can you summarize what a DoD skill bridge is?
9:42
OK, yes. So the DoD skill bridge is an
9:44
opportunity for service members as they're transitioning out of
9:47
the military, not just for retirement, just transitioning
9:49
in general, even if you're just ETS ING.
9:51
I talk really fast. I apologize.
9:53
I'm going to try to slow down, but what it is is it gives
9:58
service members an opportunity to work within a civilian
10:02
organization while they're still getting paid by the military.
10:05
They get an opportunity to basically get out into the
10:08
civilian world, try to get some experience, try to learn about
10:14
civilian organizations, how they function before getting out into
10:20
the civilian world and starting a new career.
10:22
So the the main goal is that these organizations that allow
10:27
service members to participate in this program is that they
10:30
have a plan to hire them after. It's not supposed to be just
10:33
free work, but I know that some people do think it is.
10:39
Yeah. The goal is to get hired is to
10:42
hire the the individual because I mean, as we both know
10:46
military, you know, you bring a lot of great qualities to to
10:49
work into your career field with you that you've learned in the
10:52
military. I mean, you're you're timely,
10:55
you know how important timelines are, how important the mission
10:58
is to get it completed to. Yeah.
11:00
So I think that we all bring so many great skills to.
11:04
So you, you get into this, this new role, you get, you know,
11:10
supported 25% of a workforce's veteran is is a rare stat, let
11:15
me tell you. And it must have been like, in a
11:18
way, you know, different, but still you're around people that
11:21
have been through kind of the same thing.
11:22
Yeah, absolutely. Yes, absolutely.
11:26
So when I first started, I was working with the IT business
11:30
unit, which was just not my language.
11:32
IT to me it's like a foreign language.
11:33
I don't understand it. But then I quickly got an
11:36
opportunity to work with their missions business unit, which is
11:40
the business VP is a retired three star general.
11:45
So I mean, I the first meeting I went to them, I like had
11:48
flashbacks of being like in a brigade command and staff,
11:52
because there was just like a lot of the people there are in
11:55
the military or retired military.
11:56
And they still, you know, they kind of function like their
11:59
meetings and, and everything is like it's still kind of military
12:03
bottom line up front, you know, bottom line up front.
12:04
Let's get this this meeting done and move on.
12:07
Let's continue, Mike. So yeah, it was great.
12:11
I was like, OK, well, yeah, this, this is great.
12:13
And then so just like being around those military people
12:16
really made me feel comfortable. And then, you know, I did get to
12:19
a point quickly because, I mean, as you could see from my career,
12:22
like I'm, I want to stay busy. Like I want to do what's the
12:24
next thing? Like, how can I, how can I
12:26
continue to grow myself to continue to contribute to the
12:30
Army? And so I quickly found myself
12:33
like, OK, this job is great. I love it.
12:35
But like, I need something more. Like, I need something more.
12:40
Like, it's not like it's not fulfilling enough for me because
12:43
it's like, OK, like, I'm talking to people.
12:45
You know, a lot of the candidates I'm talking to are
12:48
veterans. But like, what?
12:49
What else can I do? So that's when I started, like,
12:52
getting into, like, my veteran advocacy, like doing research on
12:55
organizations that were local. Yeah.
12:58
So I just, I just really felt like there's more.
13:01
More career wise or more just having a life purpose that kind
13:06
of aligned to what you've done in the Army?
13:09
More of like a purpose, more of like spending my time doing
13:14
something more purposeful and specifically for veterans to
13:18
stay, stay involved with veterans in the military
13:21
community. OK, Yeah.
13:22
What were some of the orgs or one of the orgs that you really
13:25
aligned to that you got involved with?
13:28
Yeah, so one of the first organizations that I settled
13:32
across was a Final Salute Inc. So Final Salute Inc is an
13:36
organization that has four different programs and their
13:40
main goal is to support women veterans transitioning from
13:43
service who are in a housing crisis, single mothers, and they
13:47
just need support. So they have programs, one of
13:51
them being Miss Veteran America. So when I found out about the
13:54
Miss Veteran America program, I applied for it in which made me
13:58
start getting more involved in like learning more about their
14:01
home program which offers housing assistance, stability,
14:06
helping a service member find stability, childcare,
14:09
employment. And then they have their SAFE
14:12
program, which offers like financial education to women
14:14
veterans. And then their next uniform
14:17
program that helps them, gives them like a makeover, helps them
14:21
like buy finances, like clothing suits, helps them prepare their
14:25
resumes, prepare for interviews. And then their Miss Veteran
14:28
America program is not like a lot of people think, like it's a
14:31
pageant, but it's not a pageant. It is a advocacy platform for
14:36
Final Salute Inc. So they do this once a year for
14:40
fundraising and for advocating for Final Salute Inc.
14:42
So. Let's reel back a little bit.
14:48
I'm still trying to get over the fact that that you're you're a
14:51
female veteran and there's an actual like Miss Veteran
14:55
America. I'm gonna call it pageant
14:57
because that's what I'm used to, right?
15:00
But but, but really me this, I mean, it's there for female
15:04
veterans. Yes.
15:07
But it's it's, it's kind of like Miss America, where it's not
15:10
just about the, the swimsuit competition that there's actual
15:15
like meat to what you all are doing.
15:16
You're trying to, yes. Yes, so so the founder of Final.
15:21
Solutions which I think is, is it by state, region?
15:24
Does it work like that? Are you like?
15:26
Are you like Miss? It's national.
15:29
No, just one. It's just, it's just one.
15:32
Yeah, but are you like miss Texas?
15:33
Miss you Louisiana? No.
15:35
OK. So right now my status is
15:38
considered a semi finalist. Oh, really?
15:40
Yeah, so I'm a semifinalist. There's a group of us we're
15:43
actually meeting next weekend in Tampa for semifinals.
15:47
But yeah, so it's like since I want to say January is when sign
15:53
up started. So once you sign up, you're
15:55
approved for semifinals is when you start like your fundraising
15:59
and advocacy records or records your advocacy efforts for Final
16:03
Salute Inc. Yeah, so I do, I do want to just
16:07
say one thing about Final Salute, Inc so that the program
16:10
was founded by a veteran. So Miss Jazz Booth, she did 18
16:16
years in the Army. She was affected by Hurricane
16:21
Katrina. She was a single mother, and she
16:23
found herself in a housing crisis.
16:25
So that's when she quickly realized that there just wasn't
16:27
a lot of support out there for women veterans.
16:30
And then shortly after Katrina, she was diagnosed with cancer,
16:33
which she beat. So yay, Jazz.
16:36
And she once she was on her feet, she stood up this
16:39
organization to help women veterans who were in similar
16:44
situations. So this is going to be the 14th
16:48
Miss Veteran America. And yeah, we have semifinals
16:52
next week and then finals are in October.
16:56
So this is not just like a one day thing, this is like a a
16:59
whole process. Yes, it's absolutely a process.
17:03
And now, have you met the other contestants yet or will you meet
17:06
them next weekend? Yeah.
17:08
So I'll meet them, some of them. So you don't have to be out of
17:11
the service either. Like some of the contestants are
17:13
actually still active duty. So like we have, we have a group
17:17
chat that we have between all of us who are competing.
17:20
Most of us are on there and we conversate all the time.
17:23
We have some that will be competing for semifinals
17:25
virtually because like I think one of the girls is in Korea
17:28
right now and some just aren't going to be able to make it to
17:31
semifinals. You have do have to do finals in
17:33
person, but semifinals can be virtual.
17:36
So a lot of us will meet next weekend, but there will be some
17:39
contestants participating virtually.
17:42
It's interesting to me because a lot of times I hear from, you
17:45
know, fellow female veterans that there's not a lot just for
17:50
us and it's hard for us. Yes, we can hang out with you
17:53
all, but I had to do and I, I mean, the, the WMS I served with
17:57
couldn't believe how bad we smell.
18:00
We guys smelled after 10 days in the desert.
18:02
They just, they were, they were done with all that.
18:07
But this is, this is something just for female veterans and not
18:11
just it, it strikes me looking at it before we started talking
18:15
and it's not just a socialization or you know,
18:18
social media influencer type thing.
18:20
Like this is about giving all the women who participate in
18:24
this program contest not only the resources to have successful
18:30
life, but also the fellowship with other female veterans.
18:33
Am I reading that right? No, that's absolutely true.
18:36
Like we, we talk a lot about that as well.
18:38
Like, you know, even if we don't make it past where we're at
18:41
right now, like we're still, we've just created a network.
18:43
We've we're creating a sisterhood.
18:45
We're able to talk to each other and have that support from each
18:49
other even, you know, just by being semi finalists and
18:52
connecting with each other. So absolutely it's it's a
18:54
sisterhood. It creates that that group and
18:58
environment for us to be able to lean on each other.
19:02
So how's it been for you being a part of this?
19:04
I mean, you start in January, you know, we're a little further
19:06
along now. What's the process been like for
19:09
you? It's been good.
19:12
I wish that I could dedicate more time to it, to be honest.
19:16
I, I, I do a lot of, I, I do something called a Truth and
19:21
Awareness Tuesday. So every Tuesday I post a video
19:24
for my advocacy efforts. I try to highlight at least one
19:27
of the programs that Final Salute, Inc offers.
19:30
I like to talk about mental health awareness, how important
19:33
that is for our veteran community.
19:36
And that's just one of the efforts that, that I, that I was
19:39
doing. I did well, I'm still doing.
19:42
I've done a raffle fundraiser to try to fundraise and get
19:48
support. And then I did a run about a
19:52
month and a half ago. Didn't have a lot of
19:54
participation, but I just, I, I haven't had a lot of time, you
19:58
know, just having a full time job and having other things
20:01
going on. But I do try to give a couple
20:04
days a week for a few hours. I sit down and focus on like
20:07
what I want to talk about next and how I'm going to contribute
20:10
to advocating and in the fundraising efforts and what's
20:14
great. Is that even when I am busy with
20:16
my job, like I attend a lot of career fairs.
20:18
I do, we have a veteran outreach program which I'm part of and
20:21
like, I go to like the bases and do recruiting there when they
20:24
have their job fairs. So when I'm engaging with other
20:28
organizations there and people, I, I'm, I can do my advocacy as
20:32
well, like as part of my job as a recruiter.
20:34
Well. As a recruiter, it, it must come
20:38
across differently when you're talking to a veteran because you
20:41
know what they're going through, how they're feeling versus a
20:46
civilian trying to meet the veteran where they are.
20:49
What are those conversations like, Lena?
20:51
Oh, they're, they're great. Like, I love it.
20:54
I, of course I'm going to have a soft spot in my heart for, for
20:57
all my fellow veterans and I'm going to want to work a little
21:00
bit harder to get them the job. But no, I, I love having those
21:03
conversations because when I'm doing like a screening for, for
21:07
somebody, you know, I let them know like, hey, you know, I'm a
21:09
veteran too. And I'm talking to some people
21:11
who are transitioning or getting out in a month or so.
21:14
And just, you know, I, I have like longer conversations with
21:17
them because I, I talked to them about how like they've never
21:21
worked for a government contractor before.
21:23
And I kind of explain like how proposals work when it comes to
21:26
jobs. And you know, I try to give them
21:28
advice, I give them advice on their resumes or anything that I
21:31
can do to, to help them. So I really enjoy those
21:34
conversations. You know, yeah, Speaking of
21:38
conversations, a lot of veterans, you know, look at the
21:41
job market with a sense of unease or trepidation.
21:45
What are some things based on your experience that veterans
21:49
can do to, you know, give them the best possible outcome for
21:53
success relatively, but where are some good like basic things
21:56
they can do? You know, I think it's important
22:00
to build targeted resumes because you know, as I mentioned
22:04
earlier, a lot of the skills that you that you get in the
22:08
military, like they just don't translate to the civilian world.
22:11
And it's hard for veterans to translate that on a keeps paper
22:15
that somebody's going to read. So I just think it's really
22:17
important that they you just take the time to look at the job
22:21
requirements, look at the duties of it and just sit down Chat
22:26
GPTA if you need to, just don't use that answer.
22:30
And just trying to figure out like how, how you can best
22:32
target your resume to make it meet that.
22:35
Because I think that we forget about like small things that we
22:38
learn in the military that are easily translatable to to
22:44
civilian. Like if you're in logistics, if
22:45
you're looking for a job in logistics and you know, there's
22:48
leadership like you, you're constantly doing inventories,
22:51
going to the motor pole, like you're, you're doing all these
22:53
things like over years and those small things that you're doing
22:58
like add up as experience. So definitely I think that you
23:00
have to like take your whole career, look at it, go back and
23:04
look at your NCOERS, your, your school records and stuff like
23:09
that and see like what what you can use to translate and to make
23:13
yourself stick out, stand out for those positions for sure.
23:18
So your, your, your mom, you're working full time by the way.
23:23
You, you have had multiple careers and now you're doing
23:28
this Miss Fashion America program, which is awesome, by
23:32
the way. Tell me about something that
23:36
comes across very near and dear to you, to me is your America
23:40
warrior partnership. And no of that, because that's
23:44
that's something that I look at. You know, your social media,
23:46
what you do that those are two programs or one program.
23:49
Maybe that really means something to you.
23:52
Yeah, absolutely. So I came across America's
23:56
Warrior Partnership as I was getting more into the Miss
23:59
Veteran America advocacy and trying to find time to
24:02
volunteer, and I didn't even know that this amazing
24:05
organization was literally 5 miles away from me like they are
24:08
here in Augusta, GA So yeah, so I went down there or well, I
24:13
reached out to somebody. She's like, hey, come down, meet
24:15
everybody. And it was just this amazing
24:18
opportunity to engage with this organization and figure out how
24:22
I can contribute, contribute. And you know, I met the CEO, I
24:26
met the a few guys from the intake center that are talking
24:30
to veterans and I just knew it was something that I really
24:33
wanted to get involved in. So American's Warrior
24:36
Partnership, you know, their, their main goal, their main
24:38
mission is to prevent suicide. That's the main goal.
24:42
But as they're doing that, the goal is to connect veterans to
24:46
their community to when a veteran gets out of the military
24:49
or is already out of the military, have somebody that
24:52
they can contact to put them in touch with resources that are
24:55
right there with them to have that community connection.
24:58
And with the Novat Televent program.
25:00
So the CEO started the Novat Televent program to reach the
25:05
veteran population. And the concept is that if you
25:08
know a veteran, tell a veteran and they they're doing their
25:11
championship program. So if you know a veteran, you're
25:15
going to get your own individual QR code in link if you become a
25:18
champion. So you take your QR code, your
25:21
link and you give it to another champion and you just like keep
25:24
like a lot. It's like somebody commented on
25:26
one of my social media posts like, oh, it sounds like a
25:28
pyramid scheme, but I'm not asking for any money.
25:31
Nobody's asking for money. And we like to, to call it a
25:35
pyramid of purpose. Like you're, I'm giving you my
25:37
QR code, you pass it to your veteran community.
25:41
And you don't even have to be a veteran to be a champion.
25:43
You anybody can be a champion and you just continue to spread
25:47
this. So we've reached that.
25:48
There's over 8 million veterans out there and as you continue to
25:51
reach them, eventually it's going to fall into the lap of
25:54
somebody who is sitting there feeling isolated, feeling alone
25:57
and they're going to need that resource and it it can
26:00
potentially save a life. It has saved lives.
26:01
Just back in 2025, AWP saved 204 lives just by getting somebody
26:08
just Yep, just by getting somebody connected to resources
26:11
you're. In your opinion then I see all
26:16
these complex, you know, programs, slick presentations,
26:21
you know, high budget activities.
26:24
But I have some other veterans tell me, you know what, man?
26:28
It is as simple to me as find some way to play COD with on a
26:33
Friday night or meeting together with a bunch of that's male,
26:37
female, whatever, and going out for breakfast.
26:41
You know, it seems like Lena, that there's a place almost
26:45
researches for like simple things versus complex things.
26:50
And yeah, it's pretty simple to pass AQR code to somebody, let
26:54
them know they matter. I mean, what's your feeling on
26:56
that? Yeah, no, I agree.
26:58
And I mean that that is also a goal for AWP is to like prevent
27:04
like a veteran from being isolated.
27:06
And you know, when you get out, like you don't really, you're
27:08
not able to relate to a lot of people.
27:10
People haven't gone through what you've what you've gone through.
27:12
So also like finding groups in the area, like if you like, I
27:17
joined from Ogden, UT. So if I decided at the end of my
27:19
career, I want to go back to Ogden, UT, AWP wants to be able
27:22
to connect with that veteran and say, OK, there's this veteran
27:26
group out there, social group that, you know, maybe if you
27:30
want to take a look at them, but they go further because they
27:32
actually contact the group and say the veteran is in your
27:36
community. You should reach out to them
27:39
really. So yes, that that's yes, they
27:42
have a network of partnerships and they don't just, they don't
27:46
just tell the veteran about the community, they tell the
27:48
community about the veteran. So just, you know,
27:52
hypothetically, if I move down to your area and I was on the, I
27:56
was on the network, they would know I was coming and be like,
28:01
hey, Travis is here, link up with him.
28:03
That'd be pretty cool. I mean, I wouldn't feel so alone
28:06
because when I got the Marine Corps, I moved to New England
28:09
not knowing anybody. And it was, it was quite lonely
28:12
for a long time. Yeah, Yeah, I could imagine.
28:16
Yeah. But yeah, that that's the goal.
28:18
And you know, I always forget. I'm also are you familiar with
28:22
Onward OPS? No, no.
28:24
OK. So I am also working with this
28:27
organization. I became a sponsor about a month
28:29
ago. So but just something you just
28:31
mentioned just made me think of that.
28:32
So this specific organization who also works with AWP and
28:35
refers their veterans to AWP, they so I'm a sponsor for them.
28:41
So recently we had two veterans who came to the Augusta, GA
28:45
area, moved back home. So my, my job as a sponsor, I
28:49
reach out to them. I reach out to them and say,
28:51
Hey, what do you need? I know you're a veteran, you
28:53
just got here. And I also have more of that
28:56
personal touch with them Besides, so you're, I'm not just
28:58
like an intake person saying, OK, what do you need?
29:01
Here's this organization. Like I'm actually like, it's my
29:04
personal phone number and I'm talking to the veteran and
29:08
saying like, you know, this is this is a great housing or you
29:11
have kids like these schools are great.
29:13
Like so I mean, there, there are organizations out there.
29:16
And so that's one of the organizations that AWP partners
29:19
with that has that community outreach that like let's the
29:26
let's the community know that the veterans there like me as a
29:29
veteran in this community, I can help that veteran.
29:32
So it seems like you went from, you know, just doing your job in
29:37
your civilian life to wanting more purpose.
29:40
Yes, absolutely. Do you have enough purpose now,
29:43
Lena, or are you looking for more?
29:45
I think I have enough purpose now obviously I forgot about one
29:49
of my purposes, the onward off which I've only had two
29:53
individuals that I've sponsored so far.
29:55
But yeah, I mean, honestly, if every minute of my day is
30:00
packed, you know, being a mom working full time and doing
30:04
better in advocacy, then if I have the opportunity to help
30:08
somebody, like I can go to bed at night and still be happy.
30:12
We'll all came aside and you know, first of all, much respect
30:15
because it's a lot of work and I know that.
30:18
But you know, so many times we hear that, you know what?
30:21
I don't have purpose and I kind of lost my way.
30:24
You've maintained that and are happy in your purpose despite,
30:28
you know, the challenges of life, motherhood and just trying
30:32
to, you know, get to the day. It's really a great story.
30:36
Thank you. So what's next then, for Lena?
30:42
Well, hopefully I'm going to be miss Veteran America of.
30:46
Now, now, can other people vote out?
30:49
How's that work? So they, they have a panel, of
30:52
course, the big, so when we actually go to finals, there is
30:57
going to be an opportunity like if you wanted to, you could
30:59
sponsor a table and come out and be there for, for finals.
31:05
But no, that it's not like community voting, but I, I mean
31:09
it, it's, there's a lot of things.
31:11
So you have your advocacy and action.
31:13
We have a talent portion which it's, it's lip syncing just to
31:17
keep the, just to keep it an even playing field because there
31:20
may be somebody out there that sounds like Mariah Carey.
31:23
And then I have no singing vocal cords.
31:25
So they do lip syncing to keep it, you know, a level playing
31:27
field. And then we also have like a
31:30
question answer panel. Yeah.
31:33
So it's, it's going to be fun. I'm super excited.
31:36
Now when? When is that again?
31:38
So semifinals are next weekend and then finals are in October.
31:42
October OK, Yeah, in Tampa, FL. In Tampa, Correct, Correct.
31:47
Yeah. How can people watching
31:50
listening support you or get involved with any of the groups
31:53
you're with? Or just generally find out more
31:56
about the the programs you're aligned to.
31:58
Yeah. So you can follow me on LinkedIn
32:02
and I have my AWP Novat televat link on there.
32:07
So you can help with that program there.
32:09
If you're a veteran and you're interested in becoming a sponsor
32:11
for Onward OPS, they need sponsors to help veterans and
32:17
that one is also. I'm connected with them on
32:19
LinkedIn. And then for my Miss Veteran
32:22
America, I have a Miss Veteran America Facebook page.
32:25
It's Lena R 2026 NBA 2026 and that's where I have my
32:31
fundraising link and all my amazing truth and awareness
32:35
Tuesday videos. And then I also do some TikTok
32:42
content for AWP and just in my, my normal life, so people can
32:47
connect with me any of those ways.
32:48
And support would be the, the biggest thing is the AWP getting
32:54
the word out to veterans, like just making sure there's no
32:56
veteran out there by themselves alone, feeling isolated and that
32:59
they know that there's a community that's here to support
33:02
them. I think that's like the biggest
33:04
one for me. But also a Final Salute, Inc
33:07
that is also an amazing organization that helps women.
33:09
So they need to be able to continue to do that.
33:11
So the fundraising is really, really important.
33:14
Well, you know, I will have all those links in the Oscar Micro
33:17
Radio, you know, post for this so people can check out it and
33:20
support where needed. You know, you hear about all the
33:26
challenges veterans have. It's nice to hear that the Army
33:30
experience went well. The transition experience had
33:33
challenges, but you got through it and then you're able to take
33:36
what you learned and now serve veterans again.
33:42
What kind of example do you want to leave behind for other
33:46
females looking to join the military or coming out of the
33:49
military? For other females joining the
33:52
military, I would say it's such a great opportunity and in it
33:58
and while, while it sounds like, you know, everything was just
34:01
like easy and I, you know, I'm so successful.
34:03
I had my challenges. You're surrounded by by men all
34:07
the time. Like everybody has their
34:08
experiences that they deal with as far as like the you know,
34:11
the, the Today they they call it the military sexual trauma.
34:14
You have your experiences where I mean, you, you just left home,
34:17
you're by yourself. I've had my depression.
34:19
I felt alone, but like it's just so important to get past those
34:22
things and understand that the journey in the military at the
34:28
end is worth it and just stay true to yourself.
34:33
We need women in the military who are strong and don't
34:36
continue to allow certain things to happen in the military, like
34:40
the inappropriate comments, the things that happened.
34:43
So I mean, it's it. It'll only make you stronger.
34:47
And if anything, it's going to give you some free education.
34:49
So do it. Yeah.
34:53
And then for veterans getting out, I would say, gosh, like,
34:59
just find Final Salute Inc compete.
35:03
Like do things like this, like do research, try to find those
35:07
organizations that are going to keep you, keep you involved with
35:11
the military because military is one of the largest growing
35:14
population or women are one of the most largest growing pop
35:18
populations in the military. However, there are not a lot of
35:21
us. And we just need to be able to
35:23
stick together, be able to find the groups around us, have those
35:27
conversations that we can't have with other people, and continue
35:31
to give back to other women veterans who are are joining,
35:35
who are getting out and who need our support.
35:38
Yeah, that's the thing. You know, I talked to several
35:39
women who serve the military at a senior level, you know, O
35:43
fives O fours, some master sergeants.
35:45
And that's the one thing they said is it?
35:47
There was just very few women when they were in.
35:50
This is a while ago. And then fewer things for them
35:54
to do when they got out. And sure, they would, they would
35:56
go to the VFW, American Legion. Sometimes they felt welcomed,
36:00
sometimes they didn't. But still, they were a minority
36:04
trying to, you know, make sure their voice was heard.
36:07
And I think, you know, what I got of looking at your work
36:11
with, you know, American women veterans is, hey, there's a
36:15
there's a place here for everybody and you're going to be
36:18
supported. I'm going to be, you know,
36:21
watching closely. I'll have a confession to make,
36:25
Liam. So it's it's 1995 Fort Bliss, TX
36:30
and Miss USA is on and we're in Hock school, we're in class and
36:36
we all had to, you know, I was from, I joined from Louisiana, a
36:41
couple guys joined from California, so on so forth.
36:44
So we were all making bets about who would be and what place.
36:48
I don't know if we can do that now, but I didn't Louis,
36:50
Louisiana got like #4 so I, I scored pretty good.
36:54
But maybe we can do something like that.
36:56
You know, I'm kind of, I don't know, I'm not trying to be like
36:59
GLIBE or anything, but something to jazz it up a little bit.
37:02
Yeah, there we go. Yeah, I agree.
37:04
We'll do our own little voting on the side.
37:06
Exactly. Exactly.
37:07
Yeah. But again, all the best.
37:09
Thank you so much for sharing with me and I wish nothing but
37:13
the best for your future. Thank you so much.
37:15
Thank you for allowing me to get on here and talk about myself
37:18
and all these amazing organizations.
37:19
I appreciate it, and maybe someday I'll be back to talk
37:22
about my experiences. Winning.
37:24
I'd like to have you back after the finals and see how it was
37:29
and, and get caught up. Yeah, because I want to help you
37:32
keep the spotlight on the the amazing things you female
37:35
veterans are doing for us. Awesome.
37:37
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
37:39
Hey, it's trust OM radio. I'm with the US Army veteran
37:43
retired Alina Rodriguez, You you heard it here.
37:46
You can, you know, have challenges.
37:48
You can have a career. You can have a purpose after the
37:51
military. You just got to find it.
37:52
Alina, thank you for sharing with us.
37:54
And as we say, we are now mission in flight.
37:58
See you next time. Every generation, every
38:02
sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our
38:05
freedom, our families, and our future.
38:07
Now it's our turn to stand up for them.
38:10
This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way
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by sponsoring a $17.00 Veteran's Wreath.
38:16
Each wreath is more than a symbol.
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It's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the
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families who carry their legacy. Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org
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to sponsor a wreath today. This isn't just a wreath, it's a
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38:31
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38:35
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