March 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Gina James, Executive Director of Huntsville’s new SIGNALS Museum talks about what visitors can expect to see when they visit. Then Dr. Lawrence Sanders SVP & Chief Medical Officer with HEAL Collaborative talks about Amyloidosis Awareness Month. Then we finish with Eric Lionheart, president of the 1st There Foundation talking about Military Suicide rates.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Whether you're listening to the show over the air, or
over an audio stream on the internet, or even a podcast,
you're listening to a signal. And this week on Viewpoint Alabama,
we're going to explore what signals are and how they
have changed our world. Joining me to talk about this
is Gina James. She's the executive director of the Signals
Museum in Huntsville. Gim welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you, thanks for having me. We're excited. We just
had our grand opening last week and we're excited to
share Signals Museum with community.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And as I understand, it's kind of an immersive thing
for adults and kids alike where you can learn about
topics and involving signals and broadcasting and all of these things.
So it's about communication right in its most basic form.
We're talking about a message which is modulated and then
transmitted through a medium and then demodulated so that the
receiver can understand it. Did I pretty much cover what
(00:49):
a signal is?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, that's exactly right. So what we try to do
is to present about two hundred years of communication technology.
We've begin in about eighteen nineteen, when Alabama became a
state and we talk of out how messages were conveyed
by writing letters and someone would be on a horse
and hand deliver it. And then we carry our visitors
through everything from telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, computers, and of
(01:12):
course to handheld communications with our cell phones. So it's
basically an immersive tour through about two hundred years of
communication technology.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It started off very, very simply, like with things. It's
as simple with electronic communication as Morris code and things
like that, and I imagine you have, you know, little
exhibits on Morse code, Samuel Morris and how the code
was developed and what it was used for.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
We actually have an interactive where two guests can compete
against each other sending an actual telegraph message. And it's
much more difficult than you think. It's not just dots
and dashes. There's actually a rhythm to sending a telegraph
and so we let people step up. They'll hear Samuel
Morris and he'll walk them through actually conveying a telegraph message.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And it's hard to keep up with, you know, if
you don't know the code, it's hard just to keep
up with it, let alone to oh, now I got
a spell stuff right, you know, oh.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, and it takes much longer than you think a
simple sentence will take, you know, a couple of minutes
to send. So it was very tedious and very time
consuming and like I said, a lot more difficult than
people realize to send a message.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
And morescode is the simplest way to do it, because
it's basically an on off connection sort of thing of
either either it's on or it's odd. It's a dot
or dashes short or as long. And then we got
into where we could actually record or or I guess
transmit voice spoken words through electronic means. Was that Alexander
Graham Bell or did somebody else play a role even
(02:34):
before that?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
No, that was actually Alexander Graham Ball. And you get
into the telephone and we have some interactives here where
people can actually pick up the old candlestick phones and
you can make a call to a modern phone. So
our guys in the back have actually connected these phones
so you can communicate with each other. But yeah, that's
exactly how communication advanced. You know, it started with one thing,
(02:55):
and then it grew and grew and grew, and then
of course after Graham Bell, we started getting into Edison
and recording sound. And so we have this really nice
recorded sound exhibit where people can listen to different mediums play.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Is it as simple as like when you were kids,
you know, you used to take a two tin cans,
put them on a string, stretch the string and you
could talk into one hear it on the other. Is
it kind of like that, but you know a little
more advanced.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Oh yeah, it's far more advanced and fans. In fact,
we have proul I would say approximately fifteen to twenty telephones.
They are on display from all different ages, and people
can pick up and you know, use the phones. And
it's interesting because when a kid comes in and I'd
ask and to pick up the phone call, they're holding
it sideways. They have no idea that there was a
(03:40):
part that you put to your you know, a receiver
and then a speaking part. You know, they've never seen
these things than to actually dial a rotary phone. The
kids are clueless. They have no idea.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Oh sure, and you go back even further than that,
when you used to pick up on the party line
and you tell somebody, hey, get off the line. You
have to tell the person that you'd like to be
connected to this person or that person, and then we
had the number. And I remember it was like the
first two things were like at like the letters in
the last five or numbers or something like that that
you would dial into. That's all before my age. I
(04:11):
remember rotary phones, but I don't remember before that.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's interesting that you say that because we actually
allow guests to sit down and try their hand being
a switchboard operator. You know, about nineteen the forties, if
you remember watching the Waltins, Aaron had a job as
a switchboard operator, and of course that's where you could
listen in on those lines and pick up all the
gossip from the era. So yeah, we have people sit down,
(04:36):
they meet Ma Belle and she walks them through how
to actually make a switchboard call.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Now I'm trying to remember, and I don't want to
put you on the spot, Gina, But doesn't Alabama have
some sort of historical I feel like we were the
home of like the very first nine to one one
exchange or something like that in America?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Is yeah, like in heal it, sure, that's exactly right.
People don't realize that about Haleyville, Alabama, but that's where
the first nine one one call was placed. And we
actually have a nice little graphic there in our telephone area.
But yeah, small little Haleyville, Alabama was the first non one.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
One call This is your Point Alabama on the Alabama
Radio Network. My name is John Mountsin talking with Gina James.
She is the executive director of the Signals Museum in Huntsville.
We're talking about some of the exhibits and some of
the things you can learn when you go to this museum.
And I don't want to, of course, spoil any of
the surprise at the museum, but I do want, I guess,
entice people as to the sort of things that they'll
see as they kind of walk through history with you
(05:29):
in the museum. So we talked about phone communication, and
then there's also radio communication communication without wires, and I
understand that there's a lot of material there you can
see about radios as well.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Right, that's exactly right. So everything in our collection is
a forty year endeavor with doctor Mark Vin Dixon. He
and his wife traveled the nation for about forty years
collecting mostly radios, and so you'll see a collection of
everything from cathedrals to bake a light. I mean, it's
a huge collection of radios, but we get into we
(06:01):
go from the telegraph where everything's wired to wireless communication
in Marconi, and then you get into things like the
first ground to cloud communication with you know, there's no
wires anymore, it's all wireless. So that was a huge
advancement in technology. And one of our displays here you
can actually pull up we have an ar code and
(06:21):
you can actually walk in to see the Titanic radio room.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And that Titanic radio room. Had it been a little
bit better, I guess, had to other people been better manning,
maybe that wouldn't have been the disaster we all remember.
But yeah, that was when it radio was very much
it because that was what nineteen like twelve thirteen.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Something, Well that's nineteen twelve when Titanic happened. Yeah, so
it radio has been completely different.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
And if it weren't for wireless communication, how could we
have talked to airplane you know, and forget airplanes space
you know, Huntsville of course has a huge role in
the space program, and we had to be able to
talk to those astronauts that are orbiting the Earth or
going to the Moon. And once again, signals play a
big part in that as well.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I don't think people, especially younger people, realized that
what we have in our hands is not what our
technology has always been. It's a building block, you know,
things started and would build upon that. And the path
to invention is amazing how we build upon the previous technology.
And that's kind of the message we're sending here, is
that what we have today is because of all the
(07:21):
previous technologies that people advance.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
A big conversion that happened was when we went from
analog to digital, and in other words, there was a
time when it was very much your sound ways vibrated
a little bit of a diaphragm, which we could converted
into basically an electric signal, and it was and it
was you know, amplified to amplify so forth and send
over the air. And then at some point we said,
what if we converted that into a digital thing ones
(07:44):
and zeros. We could cram so much more information digitally
into a signal, and we could cram so much more
information into a single medium of transmission. And when we
did that we at first people complained. They lamented, They said,
how the phone sounded robotic and thin, but the signal
they got better. Can you talk some about when we
kind of move from a analog to a digital signal
(08:08):
when it comes to voice and for that matter, visual communication.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Sure, so you know, after we get into wireless communication,
the advancement continued and eventually we get into guess what,
television and here at the Signals we have one of
the best television displays back there. One of our guys,
Alan Wooten, has been a great volunteer to help get
all of our television set up, and we have things
back there. You know, the first TV was nineteen forty seven,
(08:34):
and we actually have a nineteen forty seven entertainment center
here in the museum that is still working conditioned. So
a lot of what people don't realize is this huge
collection that we have, over eighty percent of it is
still be working condition. Doctor Ben Dixon has collected parts
and tubes and we have those stored here and when
things come in, the guys in the back can get
(08:54):
it back to working conditions. So you can plum most
of these things in and they actually still work. So
that's kind of amazing to have eighty percent of those
still in working condition.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Do you still have a tube tester there on site?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Absolutely? We have a tube tester there on site. And
you know a lot of people didn't realize that some
of these radios had up to eight tubes, and when
one of them was bad, you didn't know which one
it was. So you took all a out, you went
and you took it to the store and you got
it tested and figured out which one needed replaced.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You know, a fun fact radio, modern radio, commercial radio,
we still for the very large stations, the one hundred
thousand WAT stations, we still use vacuum tubes, a big
old vacuum tube in the transmitter to this day.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
No way, that's crazy. I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, so it's still the technology is still is still
in place. And you know they say for sound engineering,
some of the recorders who make a lot of the
music that you hear on the radio as cool and
digital as some stuff is that some of the mic
processors people and guitariumps, they still like the stuff that
has that that tube in it because it gives you
they call it a warm sound. I think it's actually distortion,
but it gives sound a signature sound that you really
(09:58):
they still haven't been able to duplicate with.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Transistors, right, That's exactly right. And then of course after
you get into television, where does that expandee, you get
into computing.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And we have a.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Great private collection here by one of our donors who
has loaned us several early computer things. People will walk
in and they'll go, oh, that's the Apple I first
started with, or they'll you know, they'll pick something up
and say, wow, I remember having this as a college kid.
So you know, the advancement continues radio, TV and then computing.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So do you have one of those Apple two e's there?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I'm not sure we probably do. It's such a large
of that ring.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Because it'd be fun to bring in my five and
a quarter inch disc with organ Trail the Apple to
e and you know, just you know, step back in
time and play a game of organ Trail Trail.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Organ Trail is the first thing I noticed there's one
computer here. I pointed out, Hey, we had that in
kindergarten and it was actually on a cart and they
would wheel it from class to class and each kid
maybe had two minutes of computer trail time a week.
So yeah, yeah, we definitely nostalgic and brings back memory.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I killed many family with dysentery trying across the Missouri River.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, I think we all did.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So, Gina, let's talk about the museum itself in terms
of if people want to go to the museum. You know,
because a lot of people when we think Huntsville, if
you're not from the Tennessee Valley area, and you're from
Birmingham or Mobile or any of those places in the state,
and you go up there, the first thing you think of, of course,
is the Space and Rocket Center. But you guys are
also located not too far from.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
There, right, that's correct. We are on University Drive just
due east of the Parkway, so we're you know, we're
in the same general vicinity. But think about the engineers
in Huntsville. This was the perfect place to have a
museum about communication technology and signals.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It makes a lot of sense, especially for the number
of people you can draw information from that are that
are in the Huntsville area. So if people want to attend,
what what are your hours like there?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Okay, so we are open. We're closed Mondays and Tuesdays,
but we're open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from nine to four.
Saturday is ten to five, and then Sunday afternoons one.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
To five and is there a mission fee.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
There is, it's a fifteen dollars in mission fee, and
of course there are discounts for military and student groups.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
But yes, okay, and so that and so just you know,
pack a little extra mondy when you go so you
can four and that you have a gift a gift
shop too.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
We have we have a very small still in the
works T shirt section right now. So yeah, that's still
that is still in the process.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well, it sounds like a musty thing when you go
to Huntsville to see all that step back in time
and also forward in time, because I'm sure you do
have a few exhibits as to where broadcasting is going
in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's exactly right. So you know, we kind of end
our tour with what's you know, communication and technology is
continually advancing. So we hope people realize that in two
hundred years we went from handwritten letters to everything in
your pocket, and it's not going to end it and
it's going to continue to grow and change and what's
coming next in the future.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
And we're going to need people to work in that field.
So it's a great time to take your kids to
learn a little bit about way broadcasting is done, and
actually see if you'd like to maybe I don't know,
have a career you know, fixing those radios, talking on
those radios, or in front of those cameras or any
of that stuff, or you know on YouTube as the
kids like to do it these days.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
That's exactly right. So our part of our mission is
to actually target those middle and high school and early
college kids. Of course, people here in Huntsville were hoping
that any student that's interested in engineering and broadcasting in
that kind of field can come over and take a
look and kind of get a handful and feel to
decide if that's something they want to pursue in the future.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Gina James, the executive director of the Signals Museum in Huntsville,
thank you so much for joining us today on you.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Point out all that well, you for having absolutely I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
John Mounts and as viewpoint continues, March is Amiloid Doss
Awareness Month. Never heard of it. Amiloid doss is a rare,
progressive and fatal disorder that is linked to heart disease
as well as the root cause for other organ dysfunctions.
Joining me now to talk all about this is doctor
Laurence Sanders. He's the senior vice president and chief medical
officer for Heel Collaborative. Doctor Sanders, welcome to Viewpoint, Alabama.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Thank you for having me so.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Doctor Sanders. I have to admit I've only before heard
the term amiloid dosis on the TV show House. Can
you explain in more detail what it is?
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Ah Amloid doses is a disease that is caused by
the deposition of a protein in tissues, organs, nerves all
across the body.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
And what do I mean by that?
Speaker 5 (14:50):
This protein sort of sticks itself to the muscles, sort
of sticks itself to the nerve, and as a result
of that, those organs and nerves and other tissues don't
function and results in this disease called amyloidosis that can
really affect all parts of the body, but it very
(15:11):
most often affects the heart and the kidney and nerves.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Does anyone know what causes the deposition to begin.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
It can be hereditary, It can be related to environmental causes,
but most of what we are looking at today really
relates to hereditary causes of amyloidosis.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
And those hereditary causes they probably could be worsened by
lifestyle choices and the like as well. I imagine, yes, just.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Like any other disease, amyloidosis coupled with other heart disease, hypertension,
diabetes can worsen the condition.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
And right now, because March is Amyloidosis Awareness Month, the
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, along with Heal Collaborative and Astrosenica
are most in community events all this month to raise
awareness of heart disease and its correlation to amyloidosis, focusing
on the risk, early detection and genetic testing that can
shed some light on somebody's status with regard to amiloidosis
(16:12):
and also the possibilities of it being linked to heart
disease and other symptoms. Isn't that right?
Speaker 5 (16:18):
That's very true. Hell is very committed to raising awareness
in neighborhoods and communities across the country who bear disproportion
a burden of health disparities as the communities around around
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The goal of that session is
to really talk about heart disease, to have people recognize
(16:39):
the symptoms of heart disease and be aware that something
is not right in their body, and to seek effective
treatment amyloid is one of those conditions that we can
diagnose because people come and talk with their physician about
their symptoms.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
When you mentioned diagnosis, once it's diagnosed, is this something
that you probably you don't cure but you can treat it?
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Right, Yes, there are treatments. You can't cure it.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
But I think one of the most important things around diagnosis,
particularly because it is hereditary, is that we structure conversations
with other family members to talk about amyloidosis. And because
we can get now genetic testing which will help with
early diagnosis and more specific diagnosis and make treatments available
(17:29):
for people.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
These events that are going on all this month part
of Amlidosis Awareness Month at the Antioch Baptist Church. Does
some of these involve screenings and diagnosis, Well, not so.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
Much screenings and diagnosis, more creating an awareness talking with
people about heart disease. What are the symptoms of heart disease,
How do you recognize these symptoms? When do you know
to go see your physician? And then how do you
keep your heart healthy? And as a result of that,
because people visit their physician, they have access to other
(18:07):
diagnostic tests that can help make this diagnosis of amyloid
and intervene early.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Before we wrap this up, any final words of advice
for people who think they might be at risk for amyloidosis,
Things that they should be aware of and things they
should keep in mind.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
I think that the key thing I would say to
people is really pay attention to your body.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Pay attention to symptoms.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
If something is persistent, or it doesn't get better, or
it's getting worse, that's time to go see your physician.
I also encourage people to write down their symptoms such
that when you go to the doctor, you go to
the physician, you can talk about what your symptoms are,
and you can stay focused. Because some of us get
really nervous when we go into the doctor. So I
(18:55):
think it's important that you pay attention to your body
and write down.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Your symptomslaurns for more information on any of the things
we've talked about today, or about the festivities going on
all March long at the Anioch Missionary Baptist Church. Where
can people go to get the latest information?
Speaker 5 (19:11):
Hell Collaborative dot org.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Heal Collaborative dot org. Doctor Lawrence Sanders, the senior vice
president and chief medical officer with the Heal collaborative. Thank
you so much for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Military suicide rates have reached an alarming all time high,
with the Department of Defense reporting a nine percent increase
in overall suicide deaths among service members in twenty twenty three.
The Air Force, in particular, has seen a concerning twelve
percent rise in suicide rates among active duty personnel. This
surge comes despite years of concerted efforts by all military
branches to address this persistent issue. This is Newpoint Alabama
(19:46):
on the Alabama Radio Network. I'm John Mounts and now
I'm joined by Eric Lionheart, the founder of the First
Their Foundation. Eric, welcome to a Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Being a warrior is a special kind of profession and
it takes a different kind of toll on the men
and women who serve. Eric, let's talk about that toll.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Yes, well, obviously a great question, d up. I think
the biggest issue is as service members leave the military,
they're found themselves in free fall. You know, the military
is very structured. I mean, your life is you know,
placed out there for you since eighteen or twenty years
old for the next twenty years of your life, and
(20:24):
when you leave, it's a big shock to the culture.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Shock.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
So individuals find themselves lost. They don't have the same camaraderie.
They don't have they can't even have the same humor,
and eventually wears down it. The loss of purpose is gone,
and you know, they find solace in the bottle, or
they're so drugged up on medicines from PTSD or depression
that eventually, you know, they commit the worst thing they
(20:49):
can and just fall victims to suicide. And it's a
terrible pandemic for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
And I've heard before that although these men are taught
so many survival skills for the bat field and how
to be effective killers, one of the survival skills they're
not really taught is how to survive with themselves, because
many of them bear the scars of war. If you've
pulled the trigger, if you've if you've actually had to
kill on behalf of this country, and now you're having
(21:15):
to live with that, and you come back here and
you're back into regular civilian life, you don't really have
the coping mechanisms to deal with the psychological impact of
what you've seen and what you've had to do.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
I think the other part that a lot of people
don't talk about is, yes, young men and women are
sent to go do whatever the US as a country
needs them to do. The problem is that as they
get older and they mature, and you know, mortality becomes
more some of these people get married, they have children,
and they understand a different part of life. Right as
(21:49):
you mature, and now the problem is, eventually we all pay.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
The piper, right and when you're doing when.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
You're in the military, you're taught you suppress feelings.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
You your number one mission is to complete that mission.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So if your dog died, if you're going through a divorce,
you have whatever the problem is, it doesn't matter because
team comes first, mission comes first, and you do that.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
So people become very cold.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
We're very closed off to to feelings and everything else.
And as you get older and you leave that, you know,
we're all humans. Eventually all those things come up and
it's hard for them to deal with and they don't
have those coping mechanisms. They don't understand empathy, they don't
understand compassion, they don't understand love. Sometimes, so you know,
you get that rush of feelings that people just don't
(22:36):
know and it and it drives them crazy, and it
drives them to their doom.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
And Eric, because these people, these men and women who
have served, they're they're like you said, their psychological psychological
profile is different. When they face challenges like depression that
could potentially lead to suicide, you should treat them differently
because in a way, the pathology of what they have
is different.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
I mean, they're a different breed of human beings. And
as young men and women, when they first enter of
the military, they're indoctrinated. They're part of the big war machine,
and once their time is up, they're gone. And there's,
like you said earlier, there's no real program to help
them cope with that. Now, the BA is trying to
do the best, and there's plenty of veteran organizations out
there they're trying to help, but there's too many. I mean,
(23:23):
we fought in Afghanistan for over twenty years, so the
mass number of people that are out that need help
is tremendous, and again it leads to their doom.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
This is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. I'm
speaking with Eric Lionheart. He is the founder of the
First Their Foundation, that's t H. E. R Foundation. Eric,
tell me about how your program assists veterans.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
After a friend of mine committed suicide after six months
after leaving the Special Forces teams, and then another friend
of mine was going to commit suicide while he was
on the phone with me, that's when I launched.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
The First Their Foundation.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
And what we do is we helped eyes with everything
with resume building, getting them in contact with with counselors.
We treat them with, you know, any anything that we
can do to help this individual transition from the military
to civilian life, we do. And it's not only for
the operator, it's also for that family member because we
(24:18):
do put a lot of stress upon our wives or
you know, for me, I'm not married, but for for
my mother and you know, it was it was a
tremendous amount. So we try to get them that right counseling.
And then what we found is that, as I said earlier,
there's a lot of organizations out there doing their best
to help, but if the soul is broken, there is
nothing that's going to bring that individual to that piece
(24:40):
that they're looking for.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
With the First Their Program, what are some of the
unique ways that you mentioned. You mentioned medicine, medicinal treatments,
but what about the counseling. How is the counseling different
than say, the counseling that somebody who say was not
in the military, How is that different?
Speaker 4 (24:56):
They trust us, right, I was a team guy.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I've been through war, I've been through depression that I
had suicidal thoughts, and for someone coming to me saying, hey, man.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
You made it through, how did you get there? And
it's that trust factor is already established.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
And I think a lot of times when civilian people
go to a psychologist or a counselor you know, there's
that that period of time we're like, do I really
want to share everything about my life?
Speaker 4 (25:22):
It's just a longer period before they get there.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
And with us, it's just automatic because you're a trusted
partner up first there.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And of course the thing is you need those that
trust because for somebody to open up, the first thing
they need is to know that the person they're speaking
with is it's a safe space for them to share
their feelings, for them to as you say, emote, because
these these men and women have been taught to suppress
all those emotions and you really have to. That's a
coping mechanism while you're on the battlefield. But once you
(25:49):
enter back into civilian society, we're very much the other way.
We're programmed the opposite, and so to be able to
turn it around and turn that back on, it's not
just as easy as a switch. Sometimes you do need
somebody to walk you through.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
The process absolutely and allowing you to realize that it's
not weakness to talk about your feelings. It's not a
bad thing. Right, we're human. And I'll give you a
perfect example. When I was a team guy, I never
if you talked about your feelings or you said hey,
I don't know about this.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
I mean you were blackballed in a way, right, you
were pulled off the main line, and.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
You got some help through a psychologists or whatever. But
then you had that Scarlett letter, if you will, because
then your teammates said, hey, I don't know if I
trust this guy to watch my back when we're going
to war or to do a hit, you know, because
there's something wrong with them. So you suppressed that, and
now you come out. A lot of us didn't understand.
I thought just being depressed mean that you were sad
and I didn't realize it.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
It was a disease.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Yeah, and once you have it, it just creeps up
on you super quickly.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Eric, how long has the first Their Foundation been around.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
We're going on our fourth year.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
So you've had some success stories? Can you share You
don't have to share names, but some particular success story
that you've had.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
You're particularly pre one of my another teammate of mine
that I served with, he came to us and when
we took him on this Operation Soul Rescue, this this
initiative we launched, he pulled me aside and said, Eric,
if this doesn't work, this is it for me.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
Man.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I'm I'm at the end of my rope. I tried
the va of psychologists, I've tried everything under the sun, and.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
I am miserable. I absolutely hate my life.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
And you know, he's a Christian, you know, believer, and
even that he's just he just said, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
If this doesn't work, I'm out of here.
Speaker 7 (27:34):
And we took him a program and two days later,
like I said, it's I've never heard this guy laugh before,
and he was laughing, he was joking, and he you know,
even now to this day, he just says, thanks man.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
And if it wasn't for you, I you know, he's
the father of.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Two kids, you know, he and he And what's sad
is if he was ready to leave his kids. He
just said, I am so tired and so just beat
up that my kids will get my life insurance policy
and I'm okay with that. They'll miss me, but they'll
have a better life instead of watching me be miserable.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
And now he's thriving. He's just retired of the military.
He loves his kids. I'm telling you, it's it's nine
and day.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
The way this guy is moving around the world and
all it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
This is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. My
name is John Mountain speaking with Eric Lionheart. He's the
founder of the First Their Foundation. And Eric, if people
are hearing what we're saying and it speaks to them
and they want to reach out for help, maybe for
the first time, or perhaps they know someone who needs
help and they want to reach out, where can they go?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Absolutely, they can go into whatever search engine they prefer
and type in.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
First number one. So the word first is not spelled out,
it's number one.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
S T T h E r E dot org and
there's there's plenty of tabs out there for Operation Soul Rescue.
There's a contact page for us, and we will try
to get them help any way we can.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
And if they're not a combat.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Toller or you know, if they're not a spossible combat toller,
we can definitely. We have a trusted network of counselors
that can do telehealth, and we can we can refer
them to those people, no problem. That'd be our pleasure.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And for people who because I assume your organization is
a five O one C three nonprofit right.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
That's absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Yes, if their heart feels like they can help us out,
I would love.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
For them to donate, and there's a plenty.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Of buttons on that website where they could share their
support by donating to ours.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Eric Lionheart, thank you so much for joining us this
week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
I appreciate your health. Thanks you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
The opinions expressed on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily those
of the staff, management, or advertisers of this station.
Whether you're listening to the show over the air, or
over an audio stream on the internet, or even a podcast,
you're listening to a signal. And this week on Viewpoint Alabama,
we're going to explore what signals are and how they
have changed our world. Joining me to talk about this
is Gina James. She's the executive director of the Signals
Museum in Huntsville. Gim welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you, thanks for having me. We're excited. We just
had our grand opening last week and we're excited to
share Signals Museum with community.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And as I understand, it's kind of an immersive thing
for adults and kids alike where you can learn about
topics and involving signals and broadcasting and all of these things.
So it's about communication right in its most basic form.
We're talking about a message which is modulated and then
transmitted through a medium and then demodulated so that the
receiver can understand it. Did I pretty much cover what
(00:49):
a signal is?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, that's exactly right. So what we try to do
is to present about two hundred years of communication technology.
We've begin in about eighteen nineteen, when Alabama became a
state and we talk of out how messages were conveyed
by writing letters and someone would be on a horse
and hand deliver it. And then we carry our visitors
through everything from telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, computers, and of
(01:12):
course to handheld communications with our cell phones. So it's
basically an immersive tour through about two hundred years of
communication technology.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
It started off very, very simply, like with things. It's
as simple with electronic communication as Morris code and things
like that, and I imagine you have, you know, little
exhibits on Morse code, Samuel Morris and how the code
was developed and what it was used for.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
We actually have an interactive where two guests can compete
against each other sending an actual telegraph message. And it's
much more difficult than you think. It's not just dots
and dashes. There's actually a rhythm to sending a telegraph
and so we let people step up. They'll hear Samuel
Morris and he'll walk them through actually conveying a telegraph message.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And it's hard to keep up with, you know, if
you don't know the code, it's hard just to keep
up with it, let alone to oh, now I got
a spell stuff right, you know, oh.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, and it takes much longer than you think a
simple sentence will take, you know, a couple of minutes
to send. So it was very tedious and very time
consuming and like I said, a lot more difficult than
people realize to send a message.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
And morescode is the simplest way to do it, because
it's basically an on off connection sort of thing of
either either it's on or it's odd. It's a dot
or dashes short or as long. And then we got
into where we could actually record or or I guess
transmit voice spoken words through electronic means. Was that Alexander
Graham Bell or did somebody else play a role even
(02:34):
before that?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
No, that was actually Alexander Graham Ball. And you get
into the telephone and we have some interactives here where
people can actually pick up the old candlestick phones and
you can make a call to a modern phone. So
our guys in the back have actually connected these phones
so you can communicate with each other. But yeah, that's
exactly how communication advanced. You know, it started with one thing,
(02:55):
and then it grew and grew and grew, and then
of course after Graham Bell, we started getting into Edison
and recording sound. And so we have this really nice
recorded sound exhibit where people can listen to different mediums play.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Is it as simple as like when you were kids,
you know, you used to take a two tin cans,
put them on a string, stretch the string and you
could talk into one hear it on the other. Is
it kind of like that, but you know a little
more advanced.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Oh yeah, it's far more advanced and fans. In fact,
we have proul I would say approximately fifteen to twenty telephones.
They are on display from all different ages, and people
can pick up and you know, use the phones. And
it's interesting because when a kid comes in and I'd
ask and to pick up the phone call, they're holding
it sideways. They have no idea that there was a
(03:40):
part that you put to your you know, a receiver
and then a speaking part. You know, they've never seen
these things than to actually dial a rotary phone. The
kids are clueless. They have no idea.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Oh sure, and you go back even further than that,
when you used to pick up on the party line
and you tell somebody, hey, get off the line. You
have to tell the person that you'd like to be
connected to this person or that person, and then we
had the number. And I remember it was like the
first two things were like at like the letters in
the last five or numbers or something like that that
you would dial into. That's all before my age. I
(04:11):
remember rotary phones, but I don't remember before that.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's interesting that you say that because we actually
allow guests to sit down and try their hand being
a switchboard operator. You know, about nineteen the forties, if
you remember watching the Waltins, Aaron had a job as
a switchboard operator, and of course that's where you could
listen in on those lines and pick up all the
gossip from the era. So yeah, we have people sit down,
(04:36):
they meet Ma Belle and she walks them through how
to actually make a switchboard call.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Now I'm trying to remember, and I don't want to
put you on the spot, Gina, But doesn't Alabama have
some sort of historical I feel like we were the
home of like the very first nine to one one
exchange or something like that in America?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Is yeah, like in heal it, sure, that's exactly right.
People don't realize that about Haleyville, Alabama, but that's where
the first nine one one call was placed. And we
actually have a nice little graphic there in our telephone area.
But yeah, small little Haleyville, Alabama was the first non one.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
One call This is your Point Alabama on the Alabama
Radio Network. My name is John Mountsin talking with Gina James.
She is the executive director of the Signals Museum in Huntsville.
We're talking about some of the exhibits and some of
the things you can learn when you go to this museum.
And I don't want to, of course, spoil any of
the surprise at the museum, but I do want, I guess,
entice people as to the sort of things that they'll
see as they kind of walk through history with you
(05:29):
in the museum. So we talked about phone communication, and
then there's also radio communication communication without wires, and I
understand that there's a lot of material there you can
see about radios as well.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Right, that's exactly right. So everything in our collection is
a forty year endeavor with doctor Mark Vin Dixon. He
and his wife traveled the nation for about forty years
collecting mostly radios, and so you'll see a collection of
everything from cathedrals to bake a light. I mean, it's
a huge collection of radios, but we get into we
(06:01):
go from the telegraph where everything's wired to wireless communication
in Marconi, and then you get into things like the
first ground to cloud communication with you know, there's no
wires anymore, it's all wireless. So that was a huge
advancement in technology. And one of our displays here you
can actually pull up we have an ar code and
(06:21):
you can actually walk in to see the Titanic radio room.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And that Titanic radio room. Had it been a little
bit better, I guess, had to other people been better manning,
maybe that wouldn't have been the disaster we all remember.
But yeah, that was when it radio was very much
it because that was what nineteen like twelve thirteen.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Something, Well that's nineteen twelve when Titanic happened. Yeah, so
it radio has been completely different.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
And if it weren't for wireless communication, how could we
have talked to airplane you know, and forget airplanes space
you know, Huntsville of course has a huge role in
the space program, and we had to be able to
talk to those astronauts that are orbiting the Earth or
going to the Moon. And once again, signals play a
big part in that as well.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I don't think people, especially younger people, realized that
what we have in our hands is not what our
technology has always been. It's a building block, you know,
things started and would build upon that. And the path
to invention is amazing how we build upon the previous technology.
And that's kind of the message we're sending here, is
that what we have today is because of all the
(07:21):
previous technologies that people advance.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
A big conversion that happened was when we went from
analog to digital, and in other words, there was a
time when it was very much your sound ways vibrated
a little bit of a diaphragm, which we could converted
into basically an electric signal, and it was and it
was you know, amplified to amplify so forth and send
over the air. And then at some point we said,
what if we converted that into a digital thing ones
(07:44):
and zeros. We could cram so much more information digitally
into a signal, and we could cram so much more
information into a single medium of transmission. And when we
did that we at first people complained. They lamented, They said,
how the phone sounded robotic and thin, but the signal
they got better. Can you talk some about when we
kind of move from a analog to a digital signal
(08:08):
when it comes to voice and for that matter, visual communication.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Sure, so you know, after we get into wireless communication,
the advancement continued and eventually we get into guess what,
television and here at the Signals we have one of
the best television displays back there. One of our guys,
Alan Wooten, has been a great volunteer to help get
all of our television set up, and we have things
back there. You know, the first TV was nineteen forty seven,
(08:34):
and we actually have a nineteen forty seven entertainment center
here in the museum that is still working conditioned. So
a lot of what people don't realize is this huge
collection that we have, over eighty percent of it is
still be working condition. Doctor Ben Dixon has collected parts
and tubes and we have those stored here and when
things come in, the guys in the back can get
(08:54):
it back to working conditions. So you can plum most
of these things in and they actually still work. So
that's kind of amazing to have eighty percent of those
still in working condition.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Do you still have a tube tester there on site?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Absolutely? We have a tube tester there on site. And
you know a lot of people didn't realize that some
of these radios had up to eight tubes, and when
one of them was bad, you didn't know which one
it was. So you took all a out, you went
and you took it to the store and you got
it tested and figured out which one needed replaced.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You know, a fun fact radio, modern radio, commercial radio,
we still for the very large stations, the one hundred
thousand WAT stations, we still use vacuum tubes, a big
old vacuum tube in the transmitter to this day.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
No way, that's crazy. I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, so it's still the technology is still is still
in place. And you know they say for sound engineering,
some of the recorders who make a lot of the
music that you hear on the radio as cool and
digital as some stuff is that some of the mic
processors people and guitariumps, they still like the stuff that
has that that tube in it because it gives you
they call it a warm sound. I think it's actually distortion,
but it gives sound a signature sound that you really
(09:58):
they still haven't been able to duplicate with.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Transistors, right, That's exactly right. And then of course after
you get into television, where does that expandee, you get
into computing.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And we have a.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Great private collection here by one of our donors who
has loaned us several early computer things. People will walk
in and they'll go, oh, that's the Apple I first
started with, or they'll you know, they'll pick something up
and say, wow, I remember having this as a college kid.
So you know, the advancement continues radio, TV and then computing.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So do you have one of those Apple two e's there?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I'm not sure we probably do. It's such a large
of that ring.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Because it'd be fun to bring in my five and
a quarter inch disc with organ Trail the Apple to
e and you know, just you know, step back in
time and play a game of organ Trail Trail.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Organ Trail is the first thing I noticed there's one
computer here. I pointed out, Hey, we had that in
kindergarten and it was actually on a cart and they
would wheel it from class to class and each kid
maybe had two minutes of computer trail time a week.
So yeah, yeah, we definitely nostalgic and brings back memory.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I killed many family with dysentery trying across the Missouri River.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, I think we all did.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So, Gina, let's talk about the museum itself in terms
of if people want to go to the museum. You know,
because a lot of people when we think Huntsville, if
you're not from the Tennessee Valley area, and you're from
Birmingham or Mobile or any of those places in the state,
and you go up there, the first thing you think of, of course,
is the Space and Rocket Center. But you guys are
also located not too far from.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
There, right, that's correct. We are on University Drive just
due east of the Parkway, so we're you know, we're
in the same general vicinity. But think about the engineers
in Huntsville. This was the perfect place to have a
museum about communication technology and signals.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It makes a lot of sense, especially for the number
of people you can draw information from that are that
are in the Huntsville area. So if people want to attend,
what what are your hours like there?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Okay, so we are open. We're closed Mondays and Tuesdays,
but we're open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from nine to four.
Saturday is ten to five, and then Sunday afternoons one.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
To five and is there a mission fee.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
There is, it's a fifteen dollars in mission fee, and
of course there are discounts for military and student groups.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
But yes, okay, and so that and so just you know,
pack a little extra mondy when you go so you
can four and that you have a gift a gift
shop too.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
We have we have a very small still in the
works T shirt section right now. So yeah, that's still
that is still in the process.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well, it sounds like a musty thing when you go
to Huntsville to see all that step back in time
and also forward in time, because I'm sure you do
have a few exhibits as to where broadcasting is going
in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's exactly right. So you know, we kind of end
our tour with what's you know, communication and technology is
continually advancing. So we hope people realize that in two
hundred years we went from handwritten letters to everything in
your pocket, and it's not going to end it and
it's going to continue to grow and change and what's
coming next in the future.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
And we're going to need people to work in that field.
So it's a great time to take your kids to
learn a little bit about way broadcasting is done, and
actually see if you'd like to maybe I don't know,
have a career you know, fixing those radios, talking on
those radios, or in front of those cameras or any
of that stuff, or you know on YouTube as the
kids like to do it these days.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
That's exactly right. So our part of our mission is
to actually target those middle and high school and early
college kids. Of course, people here in Huntsville were hoping
that any student that's interested in engineering and broadcasting in
that kind of field can come over and take a
look and kind of get a handful and feel to
decide if that's something they want to pursue in the future.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Gina James, the executive director of the Signals Museum in Huntsville,
thank you so much for joining us today on you.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Point out all that well, you for having absolutely I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
John Mounts and as viewpoint continues, March is Amiloid Doss
Awareness Month. Never heard of it. Amiloid doss is a rare,
progressive and fatal disorder that is linked to heart disease
as well as the root cause for other organ dysfunctions.
Joining me now to talk all about this is doctor
Laurence Sanders. He's the senior vice president and chief medical
officer for Heel Collaborative. Doctor Sanders, welcome to Viewpoint, Alabama.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Thank you for having me so.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Doctor Sanders. I have to admit I've only before heard
the term amiloid dosis on the TV show House. Can
you explain in more detail what it is?
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Ah Amloid doses is a disease that is caused by
the deposition of a protein in tissues, organs, nerves all
across the body.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
And what do I mean by that?
Speaker 5 (14:50):
This protein sort of sticks itself to the muscles, sort
of sticks itself to the nerve, and as a result
of that, those organs and nerves and other tissues don't
function and results in this disease called amyloidosis that can
really affect all parts of the body, but it very
(15:11):
most often affects the heart and the kidney and nerves.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Does anyone know what causes the deposition to begin.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
It can be hereditary, It can be related to environmental causes,
but most of what we are looking at today really
relates to hereditary causes of amyloidosis.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
And those hereditary causes they probably could be worsened by
lifestyle choices and the like as well. I imagine, yes, just.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Like any other disease, amyloidosis coupled with other heart disease, hypertension,
diabetes can worsen the condition.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
And right now, because March is Amyloidosis Awareness Month, the
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, along with Heal Collaborative and Astrosenica
are most in community events all this month to raise
awareness of heart disease and its correlation to amyloidosis, focusing
on the risk, early detection and genetic testing that can
shed some light on somebody's status with regard to amiloidosis
(16:12):
and also the possibilities of it being linked to heart
disease and other symptoms. Isn't that right?
Speaker 5 (16:18):
That's very true. Hell is very committed to raising awareness
in neighborhoods and communities across the country who bear disproportion
a burden of health disparities as the communities around around
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The goal of that session is
to really talk about heart disease, to have people recognize
(16:39):
the symptoms of heart disease and be aware that something
is not right in their body, and to seek effective
treatment amyloid is one of those conditions that we can
diagnose because people come and talk with their physician about
their symptoms.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
When you mentioned diagnosis, once it's diagnosed, is this something
that you probably you don't cure but you can treat it?
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Right, Yes, there are treatments. You can't cure it.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
But I think one of the most important things around diagnosis,
particularly because it is hereditary, is that we structure conversations
with other family members to talk about amyloidosis. And because
we can get now genetic testing which will help with
early diagnosis and more specific diagnosis and make treatments available
(17:29):
for people.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
These events that are going on all this month part
of Amlidosis Awareness Month at the Antioch Baptist Church. Does
some of these involve screenings and diagnosis, Well, not so.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
Much screenings and diagnosis, more creating an awareness talking with
people about heart disease. What are the symptoms of heart disease,
How do you recognize these symptoms? When do you know
to go see your physician? And then how do you
keep your heart healthy? And as a result of that,
because people visit their physician, they have access to other
(18:07):
diagnostic tests that can help make this diagnosis of amyloid
and intervene early.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Before we wrap this up, any final words of advice
for people who think they might be at risk for amyloidosis,
Things that they should be aware of and things they
should keep in mind.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
I think that the key thing I would say to
people is really pay attention to your body.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Pay attention to symptoms.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
If something is persistent, or it doesn't get better, or
it's getting worse, that's time to go see your physician.
I also encourage people to write down their symptoms such
that when you go to the doctor, you go to
the physician, you can talk about what your symptoms are,
and you can stay focused. Because some of us get
really nervous when we go into the doctor. So I
(18:55):
think it's important that you pay attention to your body
and write down.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Your symptomslaurns for more information on any of the things
we've talked about today, or about the festivities going on
all March long at the Anioch Missionary Baptist Church. Where
can people go to get the latest information?
Speaker 5 (19:11):
Hell Collaborative dot org.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Heal Collaborative dot org. Doctor Lawrence Sanders, the senior vice
president and chief medical officer with the Heal collaborative. Thank
you so much for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Military suicide rates have reached an alarming all time high,
with the Department of Defense reporting a nine percent increase
in overall suicide deaths among service members in twenty twenty three.
The Air Force, in particular, has seen a concerning twelve
percent rise in suicide rates among active duty personnel. This
surge comes despite years of concerted efforts by all military
branches to address this persistent issue. This is Newpoint Alabama
(19:46):
on the Alabama Radio Network. I'm John Mounts and now
I'm joined by Eric Lionheart, the founder of the First
Their Foundation. Eric, welcome to a Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Being a warrior is a special kind of profession and
it takes a different kind of toll on the men
and women who serve. Eric, let's talk about that toll.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Yes, well, obviously a great question, d up. I think
the biggest issue is as service members leave the military,
they're found themselves in free fall. You know, the military
is very structured. I mean, your life is you know,
placed out there for you since eighteen or twenty years
old for the next twenty years of your life, and
(20:24):
when you leave, it's a big shock to the culture.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Shock.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
So individuals find themselves lost. They don't have the same camaraderie.
They don't have they can't even have the same humor,
and eventually wears down it. The loss of purpose is gone,
and you know, they find solace in the bottle, or
they're so drugged up on medicines from PTSD or depression
that eventually, you know, they commit the worst thing they
(20:49):
can and just fall victims to suicide. And it's a
terrible pandemic for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
And I've heard before that although these men are taught
so many survival skills for the bat field and how
to be effective killers, one of the survival skills they're
not really taught is how to survive with themselves, because
many of them bear the scars of war. If you've
pulled the trigger, if you've if you've actually had to
kill on behalf of this country, and now you're having
(21:15):
to live with that, and you come back here and
you're back into regular civilian life, you don't really have
the coping mechanisms to deal with the psychological impact of
what you've seen and what you've had to do.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
I think the other part that a lot of people
don't talk about is, yes, young men and women are
sent to go do whatever the US as a country
needs them to do. The problem is that as they
get older and they mature, and you know, mortality becomes
more some of these people get married, they have children,
and they understand a different part of life. Right as
(21:49):
you mature, and now the problem is, eventually we all pay.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
The piper, right and when you're doing when.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
You're in the military, you're taught you suppress feelings.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
You your number one mission is to complete that mission.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So if your dog died, if you're going through a divorce,
you have whatever the problem is, it doesn't matter because
team comes first, mission comes first, and you do that.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
So people become very cold.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
We're very closed off to to feelings and everything else.
And as you get older and you leave that, you know,
we're all humans. Eventually all those things come up and
it's hard for them to deal with and they don't
have those coping mechanisms. They don't understand empathy, they don't
understand compassion, they don't understand love. Sometimes, so you know,
you get that rush of feelings that people just don't
(22:36):
know and it and it drives them crazy, and it
drives them to their doom.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
And Eric, because these people, these men and women who
have served, they're they're like you said, their psychological psychological
profile is different. When they face challenges like depression that
could potentially lead to suicide, you should treat them differently
because in a way, the pathology of what they have
is different.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
I mean, they're a different breed of human beings. And
as young men and women, when they first enter of
the military, they're indoctrinated. They're part of the big war machine,
and once their time is up, they're gone. And there's,
like you said earlier, there's no real program to help
them cope with that. Now, the BA is trying to
do the best, and there's plenty of veteran organizations out
there they're trying to help, but there's too many. I mean,
(23:23):
we fought in Afghanistan for over twenty years, so the
mass number of people that are out that need help
is tremendous, and again it leads to their doom.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
This is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. I'm
speaking with Eric Lionheart. He is the founder of the
First Their Foundation, that's t H. E. R Foundation. Eric,
tell me about how your program assists veterans.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
After a friend of mine committed suicide after six months
after leaving the Special Forces teams, and then another friend
of mine was going to commit suicide while he was
on the phone with me, that's when I launched.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
The First Their Foundation.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
And what we do is we helped eyes with everything
with resume building, getting them in contact with with counselors.
We treat them with, you know, any anything that we
can do to help this individual transition from the military
to civilian life, we do. And it's not only for
the operator, it's also for that family member because we
(24:18):
do put a lot of stress upon our wives or
you know, for me, I'm not married, but for for
my mother and you know, it was it was a
tremendous amount. So we try to get them that right counseling.
And then what we found is that, as I said earlier,
there's a lot of organizations out there doing their best
to help, but if the soul is broken, there is
nothing that's going to bring that individual to that piece
(24:40):
that they're looking for.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
With the First Their Program, what are some of the
unique ways that you mentioned. You mentioned medicine, medicinal treatments,
but what about the counseling. How is the counseling different
than say, the counseling that somebody who say was not
in the military, How is that different?
Speaker 4 (24:56):
They trust us, right, I was a team guy.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I've been through war, I've been through depression that I
had suicidal thoughts, and for someone coming to me saying, hey, man.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
You made it through, how did you get there? And
it's that trust factor is already established.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
And I think a lot of times when civilian people
go to a psychologist or a counselor you know, there's
that that period of time we're like, do I really
want to share everything about my life?
Speaker 4 (25:22):
It's just a longer period before they get there.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
And with us, it's just automatic because you're a trusted
partner up first there.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And of course the thing is you need those that
trust because for somebody to open up, the first thing
they need is to know that the person they're speaking
with is it's a safe space for them to share
their feelings, for them to as you say, emote, because
these these men and women have been taught to suppress
all those emotions and you really have to. That's a
coping mechanism while you're on the battlefield. But once you
(25:49):
enter back into civilian society, we're very much the other way.
We're programmed the opposite, and so to be able to
turn it around and turn that back on, it's not
just as easy as a switch. Sometimes you do need
somebody to walk you through.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
The process absolutely and allowing you to realize that it's
not weakness to talk about your feelings. It's not a
bad thing. Right, we're human. And I'll give you a
perfect example. When I was a team guy, I never
if you talked about your feelings or you said hey,
I don't know about this.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
I mean you were blackballed in a way, right, you
were pulled off the main line, and.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
You got some help through a psychologists or whatever. But
then you had that Scarlett letter, if you will, because
then your teammates said, hey, I don't know if I
trust this guy to watch my back when we're going
to war or to do a hit, you know, because
there's something wrong with them. So you suppressed that, and
now you come out. A lot of us didn't understand.
I thought just being depressed mean that you were sad
and I didn't realize it.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
It was a disease.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Yeah, and once you have it, it just creeps up
on you super quickly.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Eric, how long has the first Their Foundation been around.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
We're going on our fourth year.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
So you've had some success stories? Can you share You
don't have to share names, but some particular success story
that you've had.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
You're particularly pre one of my another teammate of mine
that I served with, he came to us and when
we took him on this Operation Soul Rescue, this this
initiative we launched, he pulled me aside and said, Eric,
if this doesn't work, this is it for me.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
Man.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I'm I'm at the end of my rope. I tried
the va of psychologists, I've tried everything under the sun, and.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
I am miserable. I absolutely hate my life.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
And you know, he's a Christian, you know, believer, and
even that he's just he just said, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
If this doesn't work, I'm out of here.
Speaker 7 (27:34):
And we took him a program and two days later,
like I said, it's I've never heard this guy laugh before,
and he was laughing, he was joking, and he you know,
even now to this day, he just says, thanks man.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
And if it wasn't for you, I you know, he's
the father of.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Two kids, you know, he and he And what's sad
is if he was ready to leave his kids. He
just said, I am so tired and so just beat
up that my kids will get my life insurance policy
and I'm okay with that. They'll miss me, but they'll
have a better life instead of watching me be miserable.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
And now he's thriving. He's just retired of the military.
He loves his kids. I'm telling you, it's it's nine
and day.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
The way this guy is moving around the world and
all it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
This is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. My
name is John Mountain speaking with Eric Lionheart. He's the
founder of the First Their Foundation. And Eric, if people
are hearing what we're saying and it speaks to them
and they want to reach out for help, maybe for
the first time, or perhaps they know someone who needs
help and they want to reach out, where can they go?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Absolutely, they can go into whatever search engine they prefer
and type in.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
First number one. So the word first is not spelled out,
it's number one.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
S T T h E r E dot org and
there's there's plenty of tabs out there for Operation Soul Rescue.
There's a contact page for us, and we will try
to get them help any way we can.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
And if they're not a combat.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Toller or you know, if they're not a spossible combat toller,
we can definitely. We have a trusted network of counselors
that can do telehealth, and we can we can refer
them to those people, no problem. That'd be our pleasure.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And for people who because I assume your organization is
a five O one C three nonprofit right.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
That's absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Yes, if their heart feels like they can help us out,
I would love.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
For them to donate, and there's a plenty.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Of buttons on that website where they could share their
support by donating to ours.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Eric Lionheart, thank you so much for joining us this
week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
I appreciate your health. Thanks you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
The opinions expressed on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily those
of the staff, management, or advertisers of this station.
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