Behind The Mission

On this episode, we have a conversation with Bill Braniff, former Army Officer and Co-Founder and Board Member of We the Veterans, a nonprofit organization that unites private and public sector experts and leaders to find solutions to our nation's biggest challenges. We have a conversation about how We the Veterans is addressing the growing trend of misinformation and disinformation targeting service members and veterans in an attempt to radicalize them and use them to engage in violent extremism and domestic terrorism.

Show Notes

About Today’s Guest

Bill Braniff is an Army veteran and Director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and a Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland. He previously served as the director of practitioner education at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center and an instructor in the Department of Social Sciences, as a foreign affairs specialist within the National Nuclear Security Administration, and as an Armor Officer in the United States Army. Bill is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Study. His father served in the New Jersey Army National Guard, and his maternal grandfather volunteered for U.S. Army service alongside his brothers during WWII. 
 
Links Mentioned In This Episode

We the Veterans Web Site

BTM Episode 39: Veterans in Journalism with Zack Baddorf

BTM Episode 46: Military and National Defense Journalism with Thomas Brennan

PsychArmor Resource of the Week

The PsychArmor Resource of the Week is the course, How to Connect With a Checked Out Veteran. This course provides information to help family and caregivers identify if a Veteran is checked out or emotionally disconnected. It explains how to rebuild an emotional connection, how to recognize and avoid common mistakes when engaging with checked out Veterans, and understand how to approach the Veteran. You can find a link to the course by going to this link: https://psycharmor.org/courses/connect-checked-veteran/
 
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.

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Theme Music

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.

Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

What is Behind The Mission?

Because fewer than 7% of Americans have served in uniform, most Americans are unfamiliar with military service and culture. As a result, members of the military and Veteran community are at greater risk for disconnection and lack of belonging with the civilian community. PsychArmor’s mission is to bridge the military-civilian divide by educating and training a Nation. Each week, Duane France, a combat Veteran and Clinical Mental Health Counselor, will dig deep into the stories “Behind The Mission” - and create a conversation with organizations and leaders on how they are utilizing their expertise and networks to support the military-connected community.