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Show Summary
On this episode of Behind The Mission, we have a conversation with Marine Corps Veteran Shay DeBarr and Navy Veteran Charles Tawaih about their experience filming a Public Awareness Campaign, Service Never Stops, regarding firearm violence and suicide in the military-affiliated population.
About Today’s Guest
A retired Marine and current Marine Corps spouse, Shavon (Shay) DeBarr brings years of lived experience in military communities to her current role as a spokesperson for End Family Fire’s Lethal Means Safety campaign. Shay enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1995 and attended boot camp at MCRD Parris Island, SC. Originally trained as an Avionics Technician, she eventually made a lateral transfer to Career Planning, retiring in 2015 as a Gunnery Sergeant. Her personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two Gold Stars. She currently serves as a Human Resources Specialist at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, where her energy and enthusiasm continue to have a positive impact on employment opportunities for Veterans and military spouses.
Charles Tawiah is a United States Navy Veteran. He served from 2013-2017 as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate Crash and Salvage Firefighter on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN75). Charles was deployed twice with the Harry S. Truman to the Mediterranean Arabian Gulf; Operation Enduring Freedom (JUL2013-APR2014) and Operation Inherent Resolve (NOV2015-JUL2016). Charles comes from a military family where his father, retired Senior Chief, served 26 years in the Navy and his mother, a 26-year military spouse. Charles lives in San Diego, California with his fiance, Mirna, and their Yorkie, Cochise. Charles and Mirna are amateur bodybuilders working passionately to become professionals in the sport. They have plans to one day open up their own gym! Charles has a daughter named Vivian, and a stepson named Vincent. Charles also has immense gratitude for the work that he does in support of a local nonprofit in San Diego known as, PsychArmor. Overall, Charles states that he is a man on a mission to influence the world in all ways positive and loving
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
The PsychArmor Resource of the Week is the Behind The Mission episode featuring Dr. Heidi Kraft, Dr. Ted Bonar, and Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, BTM05 – Firearms and Suicide Prevention. In that episode, we talked about their collaborative work in addressing firearms and suicide in the military-affiliated population, as well as a partnership with STackUp.org where they provided a talk on veterans, suicide prevention, and safe storage on a Twitch Stream event. You can listen to the episode by following this link: https://psycharmor.org/btm05/
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Service Never Stops PSA Campaign
Join Us on Social Media
PsychArmor on Twitter
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com