About this episode
Send us Fan MailA kid from Lansing gets pulled out of a stable home, dropped into foster care, and learns to survive by becoming self-sufficient. Years later, a draft letter and the shadow of Vietnam force a choice that still feels raw: run from service, or step into it. We talk with Calvin Jones, a United States Marine Corps veteran, about what it took to choose the Marine Corps, what Parris Island boot camp did to his mind and body, and the moments that proved teamwork is not a motivational phrase, it is a survival skill.Calvin shares vivid stories from training and overseas duty in Okinawa, including the fear of getting called into a real mission and the pride that comes with earning rank through discipline. Then we follow the transition every veteran understands: coming home to a country that does not always know what to do with you. Calvin turns that tension into fuel, building a decades-long career at the Lansing Board of Water and Light and helping shape the culture of a public utility from the inside.We dig into leadership in the energy industry, workforce development, storm response lessons, and how diversity, equity, and inclusion change when you create real pathways to move up. Calvin also explains what lobbying and advocacy look like when you build relationships before you need anything, and why representation matters for young people who are still deciding what’s possible. If you care about resilience, veteran stories, public service, and the kind of leadership that leaves a place better than you found it, hit play, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Support the showwww.veteransarchives.org
