Semper Try

What started as a podcast interview turned into one of those conversations veterans know well — the kind where one story triggers another, then another, and suddenly you’re talking about fighter jets, aircraft carriers, PTSD, teamwork, terrible military flights, stolen couches in squadron spaces, and the moments that stick with you 20 years later.

Marine Corps aviation maintainer Bill sits down with Navy Chaplain Steve Mills for a conversation that’s funny, honest, raw at times, and packed with stories from military life most people never hear.

From F/A-18 afterburners and C-130 drops… to hospice care, veteran healing, and why simply reaching out to one person matters more than most people realize.

Because sometimes the best conversations happen after the “official interview” is already over.

 

In this episode of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with his new friend Steve, host of Even Though I Walk, for a powerful conversation about service, faith, trauma, healing, and the stories veterans carry home.

Steve shares his journey from joining the Air Force at 17, serving as a firefighter, being called into ministry, and later spending 22 years as a Navy chaplain serving alongside sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen. From the USS Cole to Iraq and Afghanistan, Steve opens up about the weight of walking with others through grief, combat stress, PTSD, and suicide loss.

Bill also shares part of his own Marine Corps story, including a seven-and-a-half-month boot camp journey, stress fractures, pain, and the choice to keep going when quitting would have been easy.

This episode is about brotherhood, faith, mental health, veteran suicide prevention, and why telling these stories matters.

Because trying beats quitting.

Part 2 of Episode 24 of the Semper Try Podcast is here.

In this episode, I sit back down with Navy submariner David as we go deeper into what life is really like beneath the surface. From serving on the USS Ohio and USS West Virginia to spending over a decade at sea, this conversation pulls back the curtain on a world most people will never experience.

We talk about long patrols lasting 80 to 100+ days, what it’s like to have little to no contact with the outside world, and how most sailors onboard don’t even know where they are at any given time. David shares how he taught himself latitude and longitude just to stay grounded in a place designed to keep you in the dark.

We also get into:
• 13 years assigned to sea duty
• Nearly 5 years spent underwater
• The reality of “hot racking” and tight living conditions
• Submarine traditions like halfway night and earning your dolphins
• The truth about food on deployment
• The mental side of being confined with the same crew for months

This isn’t the version you see in movies.
This is the real experience.

Because most stories die unheard…
These won’t.

📩 Questions or guest ideas: sempertrypodcast@gmail.com

Bill sits down with his cousin David Albert, a retired U.S. Navy submariner with 20 years of service beneath the surface.

What started as a quick escape from a small town turned into a career inside one of the most demanding environments in the military. From freezing nights arriving at boot camp in Chicago… to surviving “sweat parties”… to learning how to make oxygen underwater… this episode pulls back the curtain on life inside a submarine.

David breaks down:

• How he joined the Navy in just 3 days
• The reality of boot camp in winter
• Submarine school and the 100-foot escape tower
• What it takes to earn your dolphins
• Life on a 547-foot nuclear submarine
• And what it feels like when a wave pulls you underwater while you’re still on deck

This is more than a military story—it’s about pressure, discipline, and doing a job where mistakes aren’t an option.

Semper Try — because trying beats quitting.

On this episode of the Semper Try Podcast, I sit down with my uncle, Robert “Bob” Lowe, for a conversation that spans generations of military service and the stories that come with it.

We start with my grandfather—a World War II Navy sailor who served on LSTs in the European Theater… and survived two ships being sunk. No spotlight. No recognition. Just came home and went back to farming in Minnesota.

Then we dive into Bob’s journey—joining the United States Navy at just 17 years old, leaving high school behind, and stepping into a life that took him from Iceland to Alaska, and across the ocean during the Vietnam era.

As a radio man, Bob worked behind the scenes—sending, receiving, encrypting, and delivering the messages that kept ships moving and missions on track. It’s a side of military life most people never see.

We talk about:

• Life at sea and what a “normal day” really looks like
• Cold War–era duty stations like Iceland and the Aleutian Islands
• What it means to serve when no one’s watching
• And honest advice for the next generation thinking about military service

This episode isn’t about medals or headlines.
It’s about family, sacrifice, and the kind of service that quietly shapes generations.

Because trying beats quitting.

A conversation with Marine veteran Troy Hradsky, who served from 1986 to 1990.

From small-town Brainerd to boot camp in San Diego, Troy shares what it was really like becoming a Marine in the 1980s — when drill instructors were still hands-on and the transformation was as mental as it was physical.

We dive into:

• The mindset shift that boot camp creates
• Leadership lessons forged under pressure
• The reality of “sock parties” and accountability
• Switching MOS and training alongside Navy SEAL candidates in Coronado
• Life in Okinawa and supporting deployments
• A life-changing accident that broke his back while serving
• The difficult decision to leave the Marine Corps before Desert Storm

But this episode goes deeper.

Troy opens up about:

• The struggles of military pay and supporting a young family
• Navigating the VA system then vs now
• Living with a traumatic brain injury
• Why staying connected to the VA matters more than you think

And most importantly — why he still tells young people:

“If you’re not laser focused… the military might be the best decision you’ll ever make.”

👉 Because trying beats quitting.

In Episode 21 of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with Major Janelle Johnson of the Minnesota National Guard.

With nearly 28 years of service, Major Johnson shares her journey from a 17-year-old recruit growing up near Camp Ripley to becoming a senior leader serving overseas in Norway through the State Partnership Program.

This episode dives into:

• Joining the Guard before 9/11 and how everything changed after
• Deploying to Iraq in 2005 as a young mother
• Rising through the ranks as enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer
• The critical role logistics plays in military success
• Leadership lessons from nearly three decades of service
• The full-circle moment of her daughter now joining the Guard

This is a powerful conversation about service, sacrifice, and what it truly means to lead.

In Episode 20 of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with Minnesota National Guard veteran Jake Thesing to talk about his journey from joining the Guard in high school to deploying to Iraq from 2005 to 2007.

Jake shares what it was like training as a 19K M1 Abrams tanker, working with tank units out of Wadena and Sauk Centre, and eventually serving on convoy escort missions in Iraq. He talks about the reality of deployment, adapting from tank operations to up-armored Humvee missions, the stress of long nights, IED encounters, and the mental side of coming home.

This episode also dives into why Jake joined after 9/11, what military service taught him, the bond built with fellow soldiers, and why checking in on your people matters. It’s an honest conversation about service, sacrifice, perspective, and life after deployment.

Watch, listen, and share with a veteran or someone who needs to hear this story.

Semper Try — Because Trying Beats Quitting.