On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran and Gold Star Family Member Jennifer Ballou, Chief of Staff of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, an organization that is guiding the development of a national memorial that honors the service and sacrifice of all who have contributed to global counterterrorism efforts since September 11th, 2001.  

Jennifer R. Ballou is originally from Mentor, Ohio. In June of 1994, three weeks after her high school graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army as a Dental Assistant. Jennifer served for almost 21 years, retiring in May 2015. She held numerous leadership positions throughout her Army career, culminating as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the United States Army Resilience Directorate, Army G1, Pentagon. She also served as First Sergeant, 257th Dental Company (Area Support), 44th Medical Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was during this assignment, while deployed to Afghanistan, that her husband, SSG Edwardo Loredo, was Killed in Action.

 

Some of Jennifer’s awards and decorations include the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award and the Legion of Merit. She is currently enrolled at Maryland University of Integrative Health, pursuing a Master’s Degree in Yoga Therapy. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and is an alumnus of the 2022 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program through the President George W. Bush Presidential Center.

 

Jennifer initially joined the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation as the Gold Star Fellow. She was previously the Deputy Chief of Staff for the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, she is a Certified Professional Life Coach, and a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, specializing in trauma-sensitive, therapeutic, and adaptive yoga.

 

Jennifer is the wife of Omari Ballou, Command Sergeant Major, US Army Retired, and is the proud mother of Alexis, Eddie, and Sophia.

This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the blog post, The Silent Plea of Monuments. This blog article is a reflection on the words of the Gettysburg Address, which includes some additional thoughts on why memorials and monuments are important, not only for remembrance, but for reminding us of our responsibilities to the memories of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

 

You can see find the article here:  https://veteranmentalhealth.com/monuments/

This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.

 

Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.