Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
Welcome Home is a Willing Warriors and the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run project. The program highlights activities at the Warrior Retreat and issues impacting all Veterans. For questions or feedback, please email us at podcast@willingwarriors.org.
Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
American Warrior Association: Faith, Camaraderie, and Healing for Veterans
What happens when veterans and first responders lose their tribe? Master Sergeant Chet Olesky knows firsthand the challenges of transitioning from military service to civilian life after his 20-year Air Force career working on some of America's most sophisticated aircraft. Now, as a guide with the American Warrior Association (AWA), he's helping others find healing, purpose, and community.
In this revealing conversation, Chet shares how AWA provides completely free five-day retreats for veterans, active-duty military, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and 911 dispatchers across beautiful locations nationwide. These faith-based gatherings combine outdoor activities like hiking, horseback riding, and fishing with powerful fireside discussions designed to address moral injury and provide practical tools for daily life.
The heart of AWA's mission lies in reconnecting warriors with others who truly understand their experiences. As Chet explains, "Military guys get along so good because we had to... You meet people from all walks of life, and then you go back home, and the same people that were there when you left don't look at things the same way as you do." This disconnect creates significant challenges, especially for first responders who might experience trauma during their shift and then need to return home to family life hours later.
From humble beginnings in 2018, AWA has expanded to offer nearly 50 retreats annually across California, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Georgia, and beyond. Their model of bringing veterans together in supportive environments is proving transformative, with many participants returning as volunteers to help others on their healing journey.
Ready to reconnect with your tribe or support those who served? Visit AmericanWarriorAssociation.org to learn more, apply for a retreat, or contribute to this vital mission helping America's warriors find their way home.
Good morning. I'm your host, Larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services here at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, and this week our guest is Chet Olesky. He is with the American Warrior Association and he's visiting the retreat this week and I asked him to sit down and tell us about the organization and the amazing work that they do. So, chet, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. It's a wonderful experience. So if you would tell us a little bit about your military service when you joined, what branch you were in and how it went for you.
Chet Oleske:I started 18. I went in the Air Force. I entered to be a crew chief. I started on U-2s.
Larry Zilliox:Wow.
Chet Oleske:I ended up going to A-10s, f-16s and then EC-130s and then. Ac-130 gunships, where I finished and retired 20 years. Wow, in 21. Yeah, I retired as a master sergeant and had a pretty good career, saw the world a couple of times in Korea, some Afghanistan, uae, europe and a lot of states.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, sure, I just did an episode last week recorded with Francis Gary Powers Jr. Oh wow. And he is actually the founder of the Cold War Museum which is nearby and he's just a great guy. We had a wonderful conversation, but I know you're quite familiar with his father. What was with the transition to all the different aircraft? Was that out of necessity for the Air Force, they needed crew chiefs for different things? Or did you just get tired of a U-2 and go want something different?
Chet Oleske:No. So I started U-2s and back then we had a shred just for U-2s. We were a 2A3X3J and we were U-2s only. It's a very small community, two locations, california and Korea and then we had different deployed locations. But once the Air Force saw that we couldn't just stay on those two, they opened the shred to an H which was A10s and U2s. So then the transition started with that, where people were going to A10s from U2s and vice versa. And then a few years later they kind of opened.
Chet Oleske:Once you became a seven level in as a crew chief, you could pretty much go on anything. It wasn't common. Back then, I think I kind of got. I was kind of at the beginning of some of these changes. Um, my first duty station was korea, which, uh, I had there hadn't been a first term brand new airman in korea and I guess like 20 years or something and there was like three of us we were like the first ones. So uh made it through that. Uh, that was a tough base to start, right. It it's a cold place, isn't it People?
Larry Zilliox:don't realize how cold it gets there.
Chet Oleske:The climate changes in Korea is just. I mean, summer, 100% humidity and it's like 100 degrees out, and then the winter is negative, 20 for four months straight, raining monsoons. I mean you get everything there. So I went to A10s on my second trip to Korea and then I went back to U-2s as a choice and then I met my wife in Korea the second time and she went to F-16s. She was also a crew chief, so when we got married they moved me to her. So that's how I got to go to F-16s and then we were married about five years and they did. They took 607 level crew chiefs and took them from fighters to heavies and I got selected in that. So it was. It was a force retrain. There was no tech school, there was no nothing.
Larry Zilliox:it was just you move to another airframe and go out there and learn it that's right which wasn't that difficult like uh, they all got wheels, yeah, they all got comm gear, they all got engines yeah.
Chet Oleske:So for me, going from fighters where crew chiefs did a lot of the work uh, hydraulics, all that stuff but then going to heavies where the crew chiefs don't do as much, you know, we had hydraulic troops, we had engine troops, we had that actually, you know, did their stuff.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, you were more of a manager of the maintenance program where FMS would come in and do some things and and uh well, I can tell you that'm kind of envious because those are all aircraft that I rarely saw. I was in SAC, I was at Loring prison to death. Then I went to Guam and all we had were bombers and tankers, yeah, and occasionally we'd get some fighters that would roll in, and we did have one U-2 once that we had to guard and they stuck it in a—they were real nervous about it and it couldn't be out where it could be seen by a satellite and all that kind of craziness. But yeah, that's quite a selection of aircraft. Those are really cool planes compared to a KC-135. Yeah, we'd see the 141s come in all the time, but you know there's nothing fancy about them.
Chet Oleske:Yeah, I mean going from U-2s and then eventually going to EC-130s with electronic combat 130. Yeah, like there's only one place that we have them, and then going to AC-130 gunships. You know like it's still a small community so yeah Well, there's not many of them.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, yeah. So you're in and you're closing in on your 20 years, and so are you planning on getting out, or you, you want to stay longer, or how was your transition? What was that all about?
Chet Oleske:um, I was from the get-go. I wanted to retire, um. So I think my goal was always 20 years. I had hoped maybe I was further along in my rank structure, but yeah, I didn't really want to do more than 20. I wanted to do my 20 years and enjoy it and move on.
Larry Zilliox:What was that transition like for you?
Chet Oleske:I got kind of lucky, I think, think I mean covid hit the world in 20 and changed everything. You know, at that time I was on ac-130s, uh, section chief, so I had like 150 crew chiefs that were for me and we went down to a skeleton crew of like nine maintainers or nine crew chiefs, scheduled for a 12 hour shift. So we had a night shift and a day shift and so we were running 18 guys for two weeks and then they would get time off and another 18 would come Right. But for that that whole time, out of the the 150, you still have 130 guys that aren't working. So, uh, and myself included, we all had to stay home. Yeah, so it was. They called me every day, had a lot of phone calls every day, and that was my job still maintaining EPRs, all that kind of stuff, but we all kind of worked from home, unless you were on that 18 crew. How long did that go on? About eight months poof.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, that's like being in the middle of an ori, non-stop yeah, god lord.
Chet Oleske:so. So we rotated guys out. I mean there were some guys that in that eight month like they weren't good enough to be the nine yeah, you know, on a shift, so they had a lot of time off and stuff like that. But so it kind of gave me a good transition from active duty life to being with my family more and settling in with that Right and stuff being home, being present. So it was a good transition for me, I think. So it was a good transition for me, I think.
Larry Zilliox:And so the organization talk a little bit about what it is, what it does, how it came to be.
Chet Oleske:Will Spencer. He's a Navy SEAL, 30 years, wrote the program, came up with the idea for the program. We are American Warrior Association. It's AmericanWarriorAssociationorg. You can go on there and check that out. We are a faith-based organization for veterans, active duty, police, fire, emts, even 911 dispatch can sign up with us and go on a five-day trip. We have various locations throughout the country that we go California, colorado, idaho, texas. We got one in Georgia, we have a few more in the works and stuff like that.
Chet Oleske:But we take somebody completely free to them. We pay for a plane ticket and their stay, all their food, everything. It's a Monday through Friday trip. Fly out Monday morning we all meet up in an airport and we shuttle to, to a ranch or where we're staying and yeah, and we we try to teach them a little bit about moral injury and and which goes along with PTSD. Try to give guys tools that week that they could put in their tool belt and take home that help them in day-to-day life. You don't have to have a deep-seated medical condition or anything to go on these trips. It is open to everybody that has served and we just try to give a guy a tool, if we can give everybody a tool that week that they take home, whether it's journaling or or or what have you, or maybe even just a little closer to God. That's a win for us. And then they would travel back on Friday back to their home and stuff like that.
Chet Oleske:We do a lot of places. We do hiking, horseback riding, archeryery, fishing, stuff like that outdoorsy. Gotta get them away from their phones and uh and away, you know, just some peace and quiet. Uh, throughout the week they'll have hours a day to do whatever they'd like. You know a lot of places we have cornhole. Guys get together and it's just being around other veterans and making friendships with like-minded individuals that helps them the most. You know, sure, I am a leader on a trip, but I am no means like the expert, you know. But we, we all learn from each other and, and just throughout the week, we have fires every night that we sit around and talk about, and that's where we kind of do our meat and potatoes of the book that we give them and stuff like that. They have about 30 minutes of reading that they need to do every day and then we kind of talk about it in the evenings.
Larry Zilliox:Do you find? Well, let me just ask you this how powerful do you believe it is when veterans come and group together and sort of reconstitute that tribe that they miss so much?
Chet Oleske:A lot of guys do and they get out of the military and they go home right and not everybody is from a military town or whatever, or whatever you know a lot of guys go back home and they have nobody that they know that has seen or done or, you know, been a part of the same situation that they have for however many years, whether they do six months and have a medical condition get out or they do 30 years. You know like it's an experience that they've done in their life and and it's nice to be able to connect and I think that's why military guys get along so good and it's nice to be able to connect and I think that's why military guys get along so good and stuff, cause we had to. You know, you meet people from all walks of life and then and then you go back home and the same people that were there when you left, but they don't see the same, they don't look at things the same way as you do.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, and I know there's a lot of veterans that start to have issues because they may have believed that they could create the same sort of bonds that they had during their time in service in the civilian community. And you just really can't. I mean, the closest you're going to come is in public service, such as firefighting or law enforcement, but even then it's it's not quite the same. No, um, I know I'm in touch with people that I served with 40 years ago and, um, you know, we just talk and it's like I saw him yesterday, yeah and uh, and it's just something special about it. Sometimes it's hard to describe people. To the program itself what do you think is the most important aspect of the program? Is it the faith based initiative? Is it the camaraderie? Is it something else that you delivered to them?
Chet Oleske:I mean the faith is a huge part, the camaraderie, getting guys together but kind of getting guys out of their comfort zone, for them to open up and stuff like that. You know, they're going to a place that they've never been before, in maybe a state they've never been, and and stuff like that. And and just getting out there, we, we tell everybody on the first night you've already done the hardest part about this this week. Yeah, it's getting there, get, getting them on a flight to have faith in us, that we're going to be there and take care of them for the week. You know, like that's a big step for a lot of guys. I mean, we've had a lot of guys that don't show up and you know.
Chet Oleske:But but for the most part everybody shows up. But they have the military guys, have these, these quests that, like they, they have a plan. If I didn't show up, you know and I think it's the funniest thing they're like we didn't know if this was really real. You know, I was gonna, we were landing in la and we had the whole week planned out just in case you didn't show up and I was like I told you I was going to be here and so so it's.
Chet Oleske:It is kind of funny to hear some of the stories of what the guys think about. But that's that's the stuff that was instilled in us in the military and as a copper firefighter like you planned for the worst all the time and and stuff like that. And then once I do pick them up and we're on the bus and we get to the ranch and stuff, you can see that like relief come off them and then they have a good. You know, when we first get there on Monday night, it's usually dinner, dinner time, and we have a nice meal and then we meet around the fire and you just see guys really start taking it in, then start taking it in then.
Larry Zilliox:So when you do get together and the group starts to open up, what do you find are the issues that they're dealing with the most?
Chet Oleske:A lot of guys have. You know, I mean with with the wars that we've been going through. You know a lot of guys have combat experience that they have dealt with. But I see a lot of issues relating with their family and and if they're done with the military or done retired as a firefighter or cop or or what, what have you like it's reintegrating back into to life. You know, the cops.
Chet Oleske:I mean, it's so hard for them. They work a eight, 10, 12 hour shift and then they have to go right back home to their family. You know a lot of military. You're deployed for six, eight months, year, year and a half, and then there's kind of that you get to just push it all down while you're out there and then a year later then you have to like whatever.
Larry Zilliox:But you have time to work through it. Yeah, you know, after your deployment you're going to be with the family for months, yeah, whereas in law enforcement and firefighters it's they're with them for eight hours and then it's a new shift, yeah, and a new set of craziness.
Chet Oleske:Yeah, the integration for the police and firefighters that, like you know, they could have seen a suicide or, you know, had to shoot somebody or whatever happened that day, and then go have lunch with their wife an hour later. You know it's like how do you deal with that? And then then try to act normal, right, so it's, it's a difficult thing, um, it's just, but I think that's the biggest thing that I've seen is it's just guys can deal with what the job is, but it's trying to act like a normal father or a normal husband or son, daughter, you know, acting like that after what they've gone through you know, is the biggest thing I've seen.
Larry Zilliox:How many are there in a group, a typical group that you host?
Chet Oleske:We've had groups as small as like eight, but normally it's usually like 12 to 16. And that's including me, and I usually have a volunteer. Sometimes we have a chef with us depends on locations, stuff like that but it's usually around 12 or 13 is a normal group. So there'll be a couple, me and I usually have a volunteer that has been on a program before and then they want to come back to help others and stuff like that. So usually a couple of us and then say 10.
Larry Zilliox:And how many programs do you run, say in a month or a year?
Chet Oleske:So this year we have 25 men's trips and I think 22 women's trips, so we don't do any couples but spouses are able to go. They can go on a men's or women's trip. We try to cover as many as we can.
Larry Zilliox:And for the female warriors, is it an all-female cadre of mentors or counselors? Yes, I don't know what you all call them.
Chet Oleske:So we call them guides. Guides because we're guiding them through the information and stuff. Yeah, so there'll be. Women's are just the same. They usually have two or three of them one guide and then usually a couple of volunteers.
Larry Zilliox:Wow, can a warrior go on a trip again and again, or are they limited? Yeah, like us, we have limited resources. We don't have families come back unless they're invited by another warrior.
Chet Oleske:So yes, they can come back. So, especially like we have worked with Texas we're based out of Fort Worth so we've been kind of growing out of that and working with the cities and stuff like that they can come back whenever. And then if you're a veteran and you say you come and you want to come back next year, we ask that you bring two other veterans with you. So if you can get two others to sign up with you, then you come back the following year, something like that.
Larry Zilliox:So do you have a lot of repeat customers?
Chet Oleske:Yeah, so we have a lot of guys that want to volunteer. Our volunteer list is amazing. I wish we could take more volunteers back, but we try to spread it around. The guys go back. I always need somebody and if you come back as a volunteer, you know you're just trying to assist me with getting people to talk. Sometimes you know we're sitting to assist me with getting people to talk. Yeah, sometimes you know we're sitting around the fire and I'm talking explaining some stuff and then waiting for people to jump in and a volunteer can step up and maybe tell a story. That sparks somebody else to tell a story, and stuff like that so, yeah, is it hard to get them to talk?
Chet Oleske:you know, I I mean me personally I have a few tricks um a lot of the places we go. We have, like, usually a three-hour bus ride to get up to the ranch. I kind of put my headphones on and I sit up front with the driver and kind of not pay attention and I'm not trying to be rude and I tell the guys once we get there. But if I'm being the sitting in the back with them, they all start asking me questions about the week. Right, but if I'm up front not them.
Chet Oleske:They all start asking me questions about the week, right, but if I'm, up front, not paying attention, they all start talking to each other and getting to know each other and a lot of times by the time we get to the ranch they're all hugging and and brotherly love and, and you know so, by the first fire that night guys are just waiting to tell stories and talk about things. So so I mean I mean I've had groups that it was like pulling teeth, you know. But then I've had groups that like I don't really have to do much, like they're teaching each other, you know, so it's pretty cool.
Larry Zilliox:So how does one sign up to go? So, if you, go on AmericanWarriorAssociationorg.
Chet Oleske:you can click there and you can see all about us and then apply. It's a real quick, few questions and then, once that's submitted, we have a couple ladies that do intake interviews and they'll call and they're going to ask you and just try to get your background, just what you have issues with, or if you don't have any issues, that's fine. Just trying to get information on you and and and stuff like that, and and we're going to get you a plane ticket, get you signed up.
Chet Oleske:we have the whole year scheduled out before the year, so we're working on our scheduling process for 26 right now right and and locations and stuff like that, and then you know what month you're able to go and then get you on a trip and get it all scheduled out. Now some guys schedule out eight months away and they come on a trip. Some guys are like I want to go as soon as possible and we can get them on a trip, usually within a couple of weeks.
Larry Zilliox:So is there a waiting list, or is there a particular time of the year that's more popular than so?
Chet Oleske:the beginning of the year is usually slow, yeah, getting people signed up and then summer is busy season. We have a lot of trips during the summer. It's easier for some people because their kids are out of school and stuff like that yeah and then and then the kind of the end of the year, you get kind of the the older crowd that don't maybe don't have kids in school and stuff like that, that sign up big time well, listeners, the the web page is awa-usaorg or g.
Larry Zilliox:I recommend everybody take a look at it. Uh, there is a donate button there. Yes, on the bottom. We do take donations. Yeah, yeah, where does most of the funding come from?
Chet Oleske:we have, uh, three big fundraisers that we do. We have a golf tournament, we have what we call a hoedown. It's a very nice fancy dinner, if somebody wanted to go to a fundraiser.
Chet Oleske:They're in Texas. Yes, okay, all those are out of Fort Worth, okay, oh. So we have our. Three big fundraisers are the Hoedown, which is a fancy dinner, in September. We have a the Fort Worth Stock and Rodeo show. That's in February. That's a big fundraiser for us. And then we have a golf tournament, that's April, may timeframe, all in Fort Worth area, pretty big events. And then we have grants. We have expanded and we've had some people writing some grants for us and stuff like that, but majority of it is donated.
Larry Zilliox:Where do you see the organization in five years? So?
Chet Oleske:2018, it started couple trips that year I'm saying like three or four maybe and then I got into it in 21. So COVID had kind of killed it and then we started getting going in the summer of 21 again and that's I came as a participant. Now we're up to 25 men's and like 23 women's this year, so and we're we're only going to be expanding more trips. So you know, our team has gotten bigger over the last couple years and and we just keep keep right in that ship that way and and the more people we can help, the better right.
Larry Zilliox:So for the listener out there who's saying why, why should I go to this? What am I going to get out of this? What's your answer to?
Chet Oleske:that? My answer is first off, you're going to get some camaraderie. You're going to meet other like-minded individuals. You might get closer in your faith and maybe pick up a tool or two that you could use in your day-to-day life. And, not to mention, you're going to get some relaxation, some of the most beautiful places in the United States and some fun. We're going to have some fun. Yeah, you know us military and cops, fighter fighters. We like to crack jokes on each other. We like to have fun, you know, and stuff like that, and there's no short shortness of that, so I'll tell you that yeah, great, well, listeners.
Larry Zilliox:Uh, there you have it. Um, visit the web page, donate what you can to help out. Think about going on a trip or, you know, if you're you've got a relative or a friend or somebody who needs to go on a trip. Share the podcast, send them a link to the webpage and try to convince them to sign up. It's not going to kill them, it's going to help them.
Larry Zilliox:And you definitely want to encourage your veteran buddy or your relative who may be having some trouble with moral injury, pts, just all the issues that come with dealing with the VA. They just need a break and this is probably the perfect opportunity for them to get back on the right path, with people who understand them and will be honest with them and will share tools and information that helps them move in the right direction and reclaim their life, so that they can be a better husband, a better father, a better friend. This is an amazing program and we want to make sure that it's around for a long time. So go to the webpage, donate what you can and check it out, learn all about it and, if it's for you even if you're not sure if it's for you go ahead and sign up and somebody will call you and you'll get a lot more better understanding of what it entails and how it can help you. So, chet, can't thank you enough for sitting down with us today and telling us all about it no problem, it was a pleasure.
Chet Oleske:Thank you for having us.
Larry Zilliox:Well, listeners, you can find us on all the major platforms. We are on YouTube and Wreaths Across America. We'll have another episode next Monday morning at 0500. Until then, thanks for listening.
