Hey there, listener! Thank you for checking out our older seasons! We're adding this note on the top of the show notes to keep you up-to-date with the show. Connect with Jen Amos and get bonus content when you subscribe to our private podcast show, Inside the Fort by US VetWealth, at http://insidethefort.com/

Last Updated: September 2, 2024

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133: "Veterans, especially women, want to continue serving outside of the military. It's just finding that thing that ignites you." Today's female veteran with Cat Corchado

It's been 22 years since Cat Corchado transitioned out of the military as an Air Force veteran that served for 20 years. Although she has enjoyed most of her civilian life as a personal trainer, it's only been in the recent years where she's asked herself, "What's next?" It was during the heart of the pandemic when she realized it was time to start the Sisters in Service podcast. In sharing her journey as a podcaster, she reflects on her surprisingly quiet military transition 22 years ago, how she enjoys supporting people to 'be better in their bodies,' being a female veteran in today's society, and much more.

Reach out to Cat:

• https://www.podpage.com/sisters-in-service/
• http://www.twitter.com/SistersinSvc
• http://instagram.com/sisters.in.service
• https://www.facebook.com/sistersinservicecharlotte
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/catcorchado 
• sistersinsvc@gmail.com 

Resources

• The Veteran Retirement Rescue: How to Protect Your Retirement Savings from the Certainty of Uncertain Times is available to order on Amazon and Kindle. F FREE PDF download, visit https://usvetwealth.com/veteran-retirement-rescue

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RETURNING FALL 2023

The award-winning podcast, Holding Down the Fort by US VetWealth, is returning for Season 7 in Fall 2023 to share inspiring stories of service and self-sufficiency from the military community! This show is a must-listen for military servicemembers and families interested in pursuing financial autonomy while serving our nation.

The show is very excited to announce its new partnership with The Rosie Network, which will include featuring the stories of Service2CEO Cohort Members. Read more about this exciting partnership at https://issuu.com/therosienetwork/docs/me_mag_2023/16

Our main sponsor US VetWealth is proud to announce their newest FREE resource hub: Military Retirement Blueprint — the perfect knowledge library for career retiring military officers who want to make the most of their retirement. This specialized program provides training, guides, consulting, investment-grade insurance strategies, financial & retirement planning, and more. Join for FREE today by visiting: https://usvetwealth.com/war-chest-learning-center-access-the-military-retirement-blueprint/

Stay connected and get the latest updates from our Holding Down the Fort by US VetWealth community by subscribing to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gTTOdT Questions? Email jen@holdingdownthefortpodcast.com

In August 2022, Jen Amos' work on the podcast was recognized by Disney Institute and she was hand-selected as the only non-Disney employee to moderate the first Military Spouse Employment panel for the Veterans Institute Summit. March 2022, Jenny Lynne has voted the 2022 Naval Station Norfolk Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. November 2020, Jen Amos was awarded “Media Professional of the Year” at The Rosie Network Entrepreneur Awards! The show continued to collect award nominations in the following years. In September 2021, the show made the Final Slate in the 16th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards for the Government & Organizations category. In November 2021, the show was an Award Finalist for the 5th Annual National Veteran & Military Spouse Entrepreneur Awards. December 2021, the show was a Golden Crane Podcast Awards Nominee. September 2022, the show was a Finalist for the 13th Annual Plutus Awards presented by Capital Group for “Best Military Personal Finance Content.”

Holding Down the Fort has also been featured in multiple media outlets including Military Entrepreneur (M.E.) Magazine, MOAA’s Never Stop Learning Podcast, The Leadership Void Podcast, Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast, Sisters in Service Podcast, Get 2 Vet, Blue Star Families of Dayton & Southwestern Ohio, Legacy Magazine, U.S. Veterans Magazine, The American MilSpouse, VeteranCrowd Network, It's a Military Life, VirtForce, Military Veteran Dad Podcast, and much more.

Enjoy our show? Kindly leave us a written 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/30SJ7NW, Podchaser https://bit.ly/3dnCacY, or write a LinkedIn Recommendation for Jen Amos https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenamos/edit/forms/recommendation/write/

Jen Amos 0:00

Alright, hey everyone. Welcome back to the award winning podcast show holding down the fort. I am your Creator and co host Jenn emos. And as always, I am so fortunate that despite everything that is going on in this woman's life, my co host Jennylyn stroupe is with me so Jennylyn Welcome back.

Speaker 1 0:16

Hey, so glad to be here today. Yes, so many things happening in life today, you have got beyond my best, most proficient day here in the office. happy that we are both here in person together recording. So for listeners at home, you'll hear us pass the mic back and forth, because we are sitting next to one another, which is so fun and the brightest spot in a very, very strange day.

Jen Amos 0:41

Yes, I mean, I think Dennis will make it sound like we aren't passing it back and forth. But just for our listeners know, I actually tried to set up two separate mics I legit, you can even look over there. You can't listeners can't see this, obviously. But I have a whole box of other microphones, like literally two other microphones, and then a whole other setup. And I actually tried setting it up before. And one of the plugins wasn't working for the second microphone. So I was like, You know what, I'm not going to fix what's not broken. And we're gonna stick to one microphone. So thank you, Jenny Lynn, for just constantly adapting to my changes on our show and share your mic with me. Thank you,

Unknown Speaker 1:14

of course, anytime happy to be here.

Jen Amos 1:16

Yeah. All right. Well, on that note, we are really excited because I actually had a chance to be on this incredible woman's podcast show. And now I have invited her to be on my show. So without further ado, we have cat CORCHADO, who is a retired Air Force vet who has served for 20 years super incredible. She's host of the podcast show sisters in service, where it's all about figuring out what it means to be a female veteran in today's society. And of course, I have noticed on her show, she has expanded to obviously other military connected people, which we'll probably get into in our conversation here. And also a fun fact is She's a fitness professional. She is a personal trainer and a Pilates instructor. So if she coaches virtually then hit her up, because you know, it's still our beginning of the year, you can still, you know, kind of revive your New Year's resolutions, if you should, if you shall. So without further ado, Kat, welcome to hold down the fort.

Speaker 2 2:06

Thank you guys so much for having me. You guys are you know, it's fun to be here. I love doing these. So thank you so much for the invite.

Jen Amos 2:14

Yeah, absolutely. And I especially love that you're a podcaster. Because you totally get all the things that happened to us offline, even before we started recording.

Speaker 2 2:24

It might look really cool. If you know the end product looks like Oh, that's great. You don't know everything that went in between all of that.

Jen Amos 2:31

Yeah, absolutely. And this is why I love like being connected with other podcasters. Because it's kind of like you get it, you know, it's like, oh, you know, so it's kind of like if, you know, I have pets, for example. And I talked to another pet person. And I talked about my problems with my cat and how it kept me up all night this entire weekend, because it wasn't neutered yet. And so I learned the hard way why you should neuter your cat. That's a whole story in itself. But if I talk to a cat person, they'll be like, I totally get that. You should totally neutered them sooner than later. And I was like, Well, it's a whole story. But yes, we are paying the consequences for not returning this cat. And I know that we didn't think we would have this conversation. I'm just trying to share the similarity that a podcaster gets the chaos that happens behind the scenes just like a pet person understands that person. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 3:12

I totally get it.

Jen Amos 3:15

I'm genuine. You don't have pets. But I'm curious if you had any thoughts.

Speaker 1 3:18

You're right. I don't have pets. And I was totally giving you the side eye which only cat could see on screen. Because no, that's not a conversation I'm ever going to have with you. Now kids. When you throw a couple kids in the mix, then we can chat about you know all the craziness of having children and watching them do crazy things while you're trying to record a podcast which is happening multiple times on this show.

Jen Amos 3:39

Yeah, absolutely. Honestly, I can't wait to listen to this recording afterward, I'm going to relive what happened offline by listening to this. So. But in the meantime, cat first and foremost, I just want to congratulate you for your 20 years of service. And we'll go into this more a little later. But even for myself, and my own ignorance, you know, I don't often run into a lot of female veterans, myself. And I do have a good friend who you know, part of her business is primarily working with female veterans. So it's great to see that, you know, in the small percentage of being a female veteran, there's the sisterhood, shameless plug for your podcast show sisters in service, of just coming together and looking out for each other. So I'm curious if you have any opening thoughts about just that 20 years of service and kind of being where you are right now as a female veteran representing?

Speaker 2 4:27

Well, thank you for that question. I still tend to think of my service as just a little while ago until I do the math and realize it was 22 years ago, April 1 actually be 22 years. Wow. I know. Right? So I've been out longer than I was in, but it still seems so fresh to me. Yeah, and to look back where I was, and where I am now. It's like who is this person? But I've grown and that's what you want to do is grow and keep learning and keep growing because I really believe that if you stop learning, you stop growing and you stand still. And you never want to do that. And I never think of veterans, especially women, veterans standing still, regardless of whether you're serving in the military, we also want to serve outside of the military is just finding that thing. You know, that thing that you got that ignites you, that says, Oh, my God, this is great. This is what I want to do. And I think that's what podcasting has done. For me. It's renewed it for me.

Jen Amos 5:26

Yeah, which I think is absolutely wonderful.

Speaker 1 5:28

I love that there are so many similarities between female servicemembers and military spouses in that finding the thing I mean, as you know, like within the military community, there's a constant move from duty station to duty station, and you get that excitement of like a new boss, a new job, or then you become the boss and all of those things. And as a military spouse, you know, it's been really fun that now my husband's done 15 years, like, you know, I finally kind of feel like I've come into my own and found the thing that I really love to do, and that it's mobile. And one of the things that I do that I really love is also podcasting. This is one of my most favorite weekly things. And so it's nice to hear, like your story on, you know, movement from but man, crazy to think that you're 20 years was 22 years ago, I know, it reminded me of a meme I keep seeing that says, you know, when I talk about the 90s, I'm talking about 20 years ago, and then you realize, actually not though, actually, that was 30 years ago, and now I feel really old.

Speaker 2 6:34

I know people will say well, how old are you? I said I'm actually 84 years old. Okay, just just know, I'm joking. They're looking

Unknown Speaker 6:41

at me like, wait,

Jen Amos 6:43

I wasn't. In my mind. I was like, Oh my gosh, the first thing I'm gonna say is watch. It looks great.

Speaker 1 6:49

We really should take this off black and white, because I actually can't tell like, wow, wow.

Unknown Speaker 6:59

Oh, my goodness.

Jen Amos 7:00

Speaker 2 7:15

I know, it's a special day, right? Yeah. Tuesday, for sure.

Jen Amos 7:19

I mean, it's March. But you know, you had mentioned that it seems like it's just yesterday that you had transitioned out. And I would love for you to kind of go back into that headspace and share with us. And you mentioned this in our pre interview that it seemed like there was no road to transition. Like you had to figure it out on your own. And it was even a quiet transition. Yes, like after all those years of service. And so tell us go back to that time and tell us like what that experience was like for you to have served 20 years and then transition out quietly.

Speaker 2 7:53

We wore the uniform. You can't see that. On the outside. There's no sign that says we wore the uniform. And that's when I started thinking. Why don't people know that I'm a veteran because I haven't spoken up. And that's when I started looking around for I'm like, where are these women? So in that time, we were living in Massachusetts, we moved to North Carolina, I started going to all these organizations, you know, veteran coffees and all of those things. And the strangest thing was that they were all male dominated. Like if there were 100 people at this organization, three of them were women. And women didn't feel from what I was told that they could really talk about what they need to talk about in this type of environment. And so 17 years, at that point, I found that women veterans, I didn't find it, it found me. The women veterans network, and I got invited to a roundtable discussion. And it was all services, all eras. And we just I mean, we chatted for like two hours, I thought this is what's been missing. This is what's been missing is this. And so I'm now a national consultant with them. But it's that one thing that I said, this is what I needed. And from there, I found my love of podcasting was through there because you find your leadership style, again. But you're more of a leader of yourself, you know how to what you need to do and, and understanding that gut instinct that you have that if your gut says go with it, you go with it, regardless of what other people are saying, because your gut will never steer you wrong. And so my gut instinct was to make this podcast mine and what I wanted to say and what part I wanted to play. And so I'm so glad that I did now I'm here today on your podcast.

Oh man, I love that you found your community Jen and I on here talk a lot about community. And yes, there is a military community as a whole. But there are a lot of subsections I mean, I am part of the military spouse community and you are part of the female veteran community. And there is something about like all of those subsets that do need to hear that they are valuable and valued. And a part of the bigger community. I know that the clinic I work for in San Diego, one of our big initiatives is letting female veterans know that we serve them, you know, because there hasn't been a lot of focus on female that's and and truthfully, they have a lot of needs that do differ from their male counterparts. And so, you know, that's been a big portion of my outreach out in San Diego is how do we let female vets know that we are for them? So it's really nice to hear that you have found that community for yourself and are then you know, helping other people like yourself through the work that you do with the women's Veteran Program.

Well, I think the one thing that they talk about all the time for those that are getting out right now is that road to transition. And I laughingly tell people that there wasn't a road, there wasn't a path, I think there was grass and I had to make my own way. I really did, I had to make my own way. And so a lot of these organizations that are out there now weren't available to me when I got out, there was nothing. I mean, maybe there was at that time, but I didn't know about because no one told me. And now there's all these organizations out there, which I think is amazing. But now the problem is, there's so much out there. It's like drinking from a firehose, you don't know where to start. You don't know what to do. So when when that happens, you do what you stand still, and you don't move. Yeah. And so it's kind of highlighting those veterans service organizations that I think are amazing, or that want to help all veterans, you know, on my podcast and saying, Hey, have you seen this? This is what this organization does. So it's the transitions never easy. I expected it to be easier. And what I kept hearing that Oh, transition is so hard. It's so hard. I'm like, It's 20 years later, what do you what? What do you mean, it's difficult? What's what's wrong with this picture. And so it's only through veterans coming together, and helping each other, that we're getting this done, because the outside community, they don't get it, and they don't understand it, and they don't know how to help veterans.

One, you brought up a great point in that. I mean, we are very fortunate in this day and age, in this era of service, that we have a ton of resources. Also, we have a ton of resources, right? And you know, I mean, it's like both death by a PowerPoint and drinking through a fire hose. Like anytime you go to look for something, and it's that, you know, it's voices like yours, letting the community know, hey, look, I've vetted this one out. I mean, one of the things Jen and I often talk about, and I talked about with work is like, we're a community of trust. And like, I'm not going to XYZ unless, you know, five of my friends went, yep, I went there. And I can vouch for I mean, I don't even go to the dentist without asking other, you know, military area. Hey, we just moved here. Where do we go? And you get the list of don't go to this one. Don't go to this one. This one's okay. This, you know, and you know, I think the same is for like, especially transition resources and post service resources. It's like, there are a ton of people out there doing a ton of good for our community. And often some of them get lost in the shuffle of the ones with the loudest voices or the better marketing strategy. And more money. Yes, yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. More money. You know, so having having folks like, you speak directly to the community with like, hey, look, I've checked them out, and they're great. And this is the service they provide is very helpful.

Yes, I try to, you know, when I hear something, and I kind of dig in and try to figure out, you know, then we have a meeting. And I want to know, I'm like, tell me more about this organization? What are you doing? And so when it's very unique, I just did one with a guy who his organization is called vet gigs. And it's if you want to be, you know, you're not a nine to five person, but, you know, maybe you want a project to work on and get paid for that project. In I thought, that's really cool. I haven't heard about that before. So just stuff like that, that I think is just really unique.

Yeah, absolutely. I do appreciate you sharing Kat, about how there was really no road to transition. And you had to, you know, figure it out on your own? And I'm so glad that you did. Because I think that you are correct. Like I do think that it takes a fellow veteran or military connected person in post military life to, you know, help and support one another. And with that being said, I thought I would take this time, the first time to do an alive ad read on our show, and talk a little bit about if people are looking for resources during that time of transition. Our company us bet wealth specializes in financial services for career military families. So for example, if you are investing for retirement and a thrift savings plan, 401k Individual Retirement Account or IRA, or similar traditional retirement accounts, because everyone said so then you might want to check out the book, the veteran retirement rescue, how to protect your retirement savings from the certainty of uncertain times, because we know in the military that life is very uncertain. And I'm very proud to share that. My husband Scott Tucker actually wrote this book, who's also the founder of our company, us fat wealth, and the sponsor of our show. So the best way I can explain this book is To read a review by one of our financial experts, and he says, Mike Siebold says, if you are nearing retirement, you must read this book, your time and commitment to serve our country deserves recognition, and you deserve to make the most out of your post military life. Unfortunately, it's often common that the government plan doesn't work for everyone who serves. However, too many of our veterans don't know that they have options. Hence why we also do hold down the fort because we love to share a ton of options, you know, that can continue to help our military families stay engaged, and know that they have choice. Even if it's a firehose of information, at least in a way, I think it's kind of a good thing, because it's like, okay, well, at least we have a lot of stuff now. So now it's up to the individual to be like, Okay, I want to make sure that what I'm getting is best for me, and etc, etc. And so if you're looking for those type of resources, especially in regards to your Thrift Savings Plan, this book will lead you to a path of financial freedom and allow you to take ownership of your future for our listeners. Normally, you can get this book on Amazon or Kindle, but it's actually free for our listeners, you could check it out in the show notes on how you can get a copy of that PDF today, or the PDF version, you can get a copy of this book for free by checking out the link to our show notes here. All that being said, we just hope that this is one more tool to help you in paving your own path to transition. And so with that being said, I'm going to go ahead and jump back in to our conversation, and talk with cat here once again, and talk a little bit about your post military life now. And I was listening to the first episode of your show sisters in service cat. And I figured it'd be cool to give a shout out to the welcome Veteran Program in Charlotte that kind of eventually led you to participate with the women veterans network. What I find most interesting though, Kat is that you kind of started this journey less than five years ago. You know, it's like, here you are 1015 years into being this incredible Pilates instructor, a personal trainer. And it's only really in the last five years that you started to explore your identity as a female veteran. So tell us a little bit about that.

Yes. Well, I think what had happened was, I'm always a, you know, you get to a point your life you think, Okay, what's next? What's next? What's next. And I had never listened to podcasts before my husband listens to them all the time. And somewhere I my brain is said, Hey, what about a podcast? I was like, that sounds like a great idea. But of course, we're busy, right? We've got things going on. And I didn't know anything about podcasting. And then COVID hit. So in 2020, October 2020. You know, I remember them saying this was back when we thought was just going to be a couple months. And the question was put to me. What will you have accomplished in the few months that we've been shut down for COVID. And I thought, wow, now's the time to do this. So I took a course I learned all about it. And I had a date. And I launched on that date. The problem was, you're supposed to live with five or six, I launched with one.

The trailer the trailer, okay. That's what I say when I don't post for

that I meant to do that I did. And I thought, You know what, I was so passionate about it that I said, it doesn't matter to me, I'm going to keep doing this. So I'm coming up on my year and a half anniversary of being a content creator, and podcast host. And I am just exploring all sorts of different avenues of ways that I can be relevant, and give information, you know, out to all of these women. And basically, it's for all veterans, but I really focus on women, but also military spouses, military brats, veteran service organizations, because they all tie into this veteran community that we're doing. And so I'm not shy to say this. I'm going to be 65 in June. And you know, people say, Oh, I was really scared. I'm like, you know, what am I scared of? When I look back? You don't you look back on your life, and you go, Holy crap. How did I get through that? And you're here to talk about it. This is no big deal. Okay. Yeah. You look silly. Who cares? Yeah. You know, you probably say you probably go viral, because you were, you're trying to be serious and ended up being silly. And so that's the one thing I never thought about was like, Oh, hey, I did the podcast, good to go. And they said, What about the marketing? And I said, What about it? And I said, Well, you got to market it. And I was like, Oh, who said that? So that's been the hardest part for me, but it's also been fun. So it's just learning new things. And being out there. I'm not trying to be young. I'm just trying to be me. Yeah. And as I get older, then I'm more and more relevant as I get older, not shrink back, because that's What a lot of women do when they get older, as they say, oh, you know, no, I'm this age, I can act like this. And I get to be like this. And, you know, I'm still 15 in my head. Yeah,

you know, I'm like, absolutely inspired by you. I mean, I'm basically like, half your age, and I still have so much to learn in life. But no, I'm absolutely in admiration. And it's, you know, women like you that continue to remind me that I'm going to be okay, because there are women who still want to stand out put themselves out there no matter what age. I remember, in my 20s, my hairstylist was in her 70s, you know, and she she actually started her career in her mid 30s When I think she started to become not an empty nester, but she started having more time away from her kids, and she wanted to have her own identity and career. And you know, 3540 plus years later, he or she is still, you know, hairstyling and just doing the thing and looking for her age. And it is very inspirational. And I think what I love about podcasting cat is like, I mean, yeah, it may seem like it's for the young folk, but it's like, it's the one long form media that still exist out there that humanizes people on like, you know, social media and other mediums where it just seems like it's constant clickbait, or it's all about those headlines that tap into your primal emotions and make you angry or be like, What is that about and makes you gossip. But, you know, podcasting is still that rare space where you can humanize people and realize that, you know, there is a lot to learn from anyone from you know, any age, any walk of life, any background. Yes. And your existence is an example of that. And it's a form of inspiration. So, you know, even if the whole marketing side is, you know, still in the works in the sense, it doesn't matter, because I remember when I started podcasting, I did for me, I was like, I just want to exercise my voice. Because I didn't have that in my own family and my culture in society. And on top of that, being a Gold Star family member, I was led to believe that I am not supposed to be seen, you know, I'm not supposed to exist. And yet podcasting gave me that platform to be like, Oh, my gosh, I can't exist. I Am existing. And people like my shows, they're leaving reviews. They want to be a guest on the show. I have a co host now. You know, she's been with me for three, four seasons now.

Like how that happened? Yeah.

That's, that's awesome. No, I love that to all that you and Jen said, I will be 40 in about six weeks. And it's one of those things that's like, I feel like that's like, the marker of time for people where you like kind of go, I'm 40. Or oh, I'm 40. And I, I have to say that I am the ladder like, ages ago, when Oprah was still on every afternoon, she did this show. And she interviewed women in different decades. And I was in my 20s. And the woman who was 30, in her 30s was like, Yeah, I just, you know, really came into my own. And, you know, it was so much more myself than in my 20s and me at the ripe old age of like, 22. At the time of watching this was like, That is such BS, like, come on. I'm 22 I know all the things everywhere like I am for sure myself. And here, I said six weeks. And I was like, That girl knew zero things about zero things. And that my 30s really happened that time where I've really learned about myself, and I look forward to 40 and going, like look at all I mean, Jen could probably see this written on my face, in addition to my back windshield issue that totally threw me off today. Like, I am drowning with the weight of opportunity in such a good way. But also in such a very, like, there are a lot of things that are coming my way that are fantastic things. And I'm learning which ones are really for me and I love that about being 40 Like everything, almost 40 Everything doesn't have to be a yes. And also like, the opportunities didn't stop just because like, you know, I'm 39 like, and then you know, listening to you share your story that like you know, just a couple years ago, you started well, not even two full years you started this podcast, like there's some dreams I've had for a while now that sometimes I look at and go, What if I've let that go too long. What if you know, I was supposed to write that a couple years ago and now that I'm older, it no longer is for me. And I think, you know, listening to you go look, I just, you know, learn read some things and did the thing and I'm like, okay, all right. I can still do the thing.

Well, I think as you get older too, is that you start to rely more especially for women on that gut instinct that gut instinct is either a hard yes or it's like yeah, no And so I've, I've gone with that when someone says something and my gut goes, I don't know. And I'm like, Huh. But if it's a yes, it's a yes. All the way. And that's what this was for podcasting. You know, my husband looked at me, and he's like, oh, okay, you know, and I got the equipment, and I did what I was supposed to do. And I did it. And I and my husband even said, he goes, I'm so proud of you. And it was just this labor of love, it still is. And it's something I love doing. And one of them is our interviews where, you know, I get to talk to people and find out what they're about, and tell me what, who you are and what you do and all of this stuff. And it's just, it's just an amazing community, I think, yeah.

Oh, for sure.

I completely agree with you, cat, that podcasting is a labor of love, it truly is. Because, you know, I can imagine, even in your position to maybe run the show on your own. And some of us are fortunate to have editors to help us with, you know, a portion of the work, but that's just not, that's not all of it, there's still the show notes, there's, you know, and again, the marketing part, and everything, there's a lot and so, but it's more of like the benefits kind of outweigh the labor in a sense, like for me, you know, Tuesdays are my big day of recording, especially with Jenny Lynn. And, you know, depending on how the weekend went, I could either be excited for the day or dread this day, because I'm like, Oh, we have a whole day of conversations, or, Oh, my gosh, I'm gonna have a whole day of conversations. Exactly. And it's really like after the fact, where you listen to the final product. And you're just like, I'm so glad I did that. Because like, you know, you don't just go off the corner and talk to someone and have them share their life story with you. That doesn't happen, especially in post pandemic times. I think we're all like, slightly more paranoid, in many ways. But to start to have something such as podcasting, to be able to sit like this and be real with each other for this timeframe. It's beautiful. Yes, and this is why I felt excited to bring you on the show. Because it's like, oh, fellow podcaster, she gets, like, how this is truly a labor of love. And you know what, I don't know about you. But like, now, when people ask me if they want to start a podcast, I'm kind of like, well, if you want to start a podcast, like it depends on like, where you're at, like, I think a lot of us romanticize starting a podcast and how, quote unquote, easy it's going to be. But then, and you know, Daniel and I are fortunate to have like, 130 40 episodes under a play. And I know, I know, You've like you've been doing it for a year and a half, and you've done over 60 episodes. And I kind of think like, oh, man, if I go back, it's like, if anyone asked me like, should I do podcasting? If they asked me that question, I'm like, Well, it depends. Are you ready? Are you ready to put in the labor of love, you know, that this takes and more importantly, are you ready to pour your heart out? Are you ready to like work through the uncomfortable moments of hearing your voice, which Jennylyn still hasn't done on our show?

What it's really saying is you want to find a podcast that already exists, and you want to become the co host, which is exactly how I got into this, because that is the best labor of love, because I am a really good show or upper.

I can attest to that Jenny Lynn is great. And she holds me accountable to have the show. But all that being said, Kat, just congratulations to you for everything that you have been doing up until this point, in addition to being a fitness professional, you are doing this incredible podcast show helping people in our community feel seen, heard validated, and all that good stuff. As we start to wrap up here, I thought that we can kind of go back in time again, in back in your transition. And I was curious to know, because part of the theme for holding down the fort this season is answering the question, when are we going to get out? And I know we talked about this offline, I wanted to ask you if you you know, if you were able to go back, you know, let's say three, five years before transition. What would you tell your younger self? What would you tell her before she transitioned?

Great question. I would tell her to trust herself. Hmm. Trust in what she has to offer. And just because you get told no once doesn't mean you're not going to succeed in something else. Because you have that fear of getting out of the military of someone saying no. And no and no. And if I hadn't had that to fall back on, I'm not sure where I would have been but to stay strong. Believe in yourself. Because if you don't no one else well, and that you're going to be okay. Wow, that's

beautiful.

I think that's great. And I love that this is the theme we're going with this year, my husband's at 15 years and so we are essentially in that window of like, hey, we could retire we could retire in air quotes. We could retire in five years. You know and, and again, back to kind of like the age conversation to have that coming into your own and trusting yourself like what a gift it would have been that, you know, 22 years ago for you to be able to go like, I know that I can do this, whatever this looks like. So I think for all of those listening, that are nearing that transition point, or just transitioned out, or, you know, maybe this whole thing is new to you, then you're trying to figure out what this community in this life looks like, like, the answer is always trust yourself, like, yes, and it will come and you will figure it out. And the support is there to help you at whatever point you are in this life.

I think one of the things that's very unique to veterans is that we don't very easily give up. Right? And on top of the fact that I'm super stubborn. So you know, no, you're no, this is not going to beat me. So let's find another way, let's see how else is going to look so I can deal with

it. Yeah, the last thing I want to add cat is, thank you for coming back 20 years later to serve our community. And I mentioned this, because I think about even my own family, we're a Gold Star family. And, you know, I lost my dad when I was 10. And it took me till 20 plus years to come back. I blame my husband, and, and his involvement in the military community and what we do about wealth, but I blame him in the best way possible. Because, you know, there was a point where I felt like I was kind of living under his shadow and with the colleagues who work with all veterans, and, but then I realized that there was a gap that was missing, which was the voice of the military family. And I knew that meant that I had to go back and reflect on my past, as you know, being raised in a career, military family, and being a Gold Star family. And just like what you mentioned earlier, cat, like coming back 20 years later, and realizing that some things are still the same. You're like, wow, like this. I mean, yes, there's more resources now. And we're extremely grateful for it. But that that emotional transition to like post military life is still very much real and alive. Yes. And even with all the resources, and we just had a conversation with Olivia Nunn about this from Moa is that even if there are resources, there's not enough still, to make it as accessible to our veterans and military family members. Because they're inundated with too many people to take care of already. So to continue to bring light to all of this is amazing and wonderful. And I just want to thank you again, for coming back to the community 20 years later, to amplify our stories and to have this conversation with us today.

Absolutely. It's I realized after starting the podcast that as women veterans, we serve in the military, but we also want to be of service out of the military. You just have to find what that what is that thing that ignites you that says to you, I want to do this. And like you said, it doesn't feel like work to me. And it's something that I just enjoy to the utmost. Yeah. And through podcasting, I got to meet you. So I get to meet other women veterans and, and veteran, you know, military spouses, and it's been amazing.

Yeah. Well, cat, let our listeners know if they want to get a hold of you and subscribe to your podcast. How can I find you?

Well, the podcast is on all social media platforms. Wherever you listen to your podcasts. You won't miss it because it's got a big old purple thing that says sisters in service. By the way Purple's my favorite color, cuz I think we're all queens just saying.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

And if you type into social media, cat CORCHADO or sisters in service, I should pop up. Perfect. And if you want to get to me through email, it's sisters in svc@gmail.com.

Perfect. Well, cat, it has been an absolute pleasure. speaking with you today.

Thank you. Again, this was lovely. And I appreciate all you're bringing to the military and veteran community table.

Thank you.

Awesome. But that said, thank you all so much for listening. We hope you got a lot of value out of today's conversation. And with that said, if you want to get a hold of Kat you can her contact information will be provided in the show notes. So thank you all and we'll chat with you in the next episode. Till next time