Episode 533 Jennifer Ballou Turning Grief Into a Greater Mission Transcript

This transcript is from episode 533 with guest Jennifer Ballou.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] There are moments in life that split everything into before and after. For Jennifer Ballou, that moment came in Afghanistan. She was a first Sergeant on her deployment there deep into the mission. When she was called back to the office late at night, uh, her commander had news that her husband also deployed to Afghanistan, had been hit by an IED.

She got, got down to fly south to hopefully to see him, as he was being treated. Instead she arrived to the news that he had passed away, uh, just before his 35th birthday. From that point on, nothing was the same. She came home, raised her kids, kept leading soldiers, and tried to find her footing in a world that had quite literally shifted out from under her feet.

Over time, she found ways to turn this loss into impact by, uh, shaping Army’s policy for Gold star families and stepping into her role as the Chief of Staff at the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. [00:01:00] Today, she shares her story about grief, service, resilience, and why remembering these stories matter.

Before we start though, I do want to mention something important. To our community, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. The foundation is building a permanent national memorial in Washington, DC to honor everyone affected by this war, service members, families, and civilians alike. This memorial is there to make sure that their sacrifices are remembered for generations to come.

To learn more or support this mission, visit GWOT memorial foundation.org or check out the rest of this episode to find out more about it.

Scott DeLuzio: Hey, Jen, welcome to the show. I’m, I’m really glad to have you here and I’ve been looking forward to this [00:02:00] conversation for quite some time, but I’m, I’m glad we, we finally got this on the, on the calendar and we’re gonna get this conversation going. Yeah.

Jen Ballou: Yeah, Thank you

so much for having me. Likewise.

I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely.

Just as background for folks who, who don’t know you you and I, we met at the military Influencer Conference last year in, in 2024. And you guys were gracious enough to bring me on to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation as a fellow. And. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and I’m sure we’ll get into more into that and more into the, the foundation and everything in a little bit.

But for folks who maybe aren’t familiar with you and your, your background tell us a little bit about yourself. You know, you were in the army kind of deployments and all that kind of stuff. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your, your background.

Jen Ballou: Sure. So, hi, my name is Jennifer Ballou. I am a mother of three. I currently live right outside of Columbus, Ohio. I am an army veteran. I served in the Army for right under [00:03:00] 21 years. I retired in 2015, which is crazy. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve retired. Currently serve as the Chief of staff for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, which again, I’m sure we’ll talk about more. What else? I don’t know. I recently completed my master’s degree in yoga therapy, which was a

really long journey and

something that I’m super proud

of, and

I know that’s.

Scott DeLuzio: No, that’s good. That’s good. And you know, it gives just a little, little flavor to your, your background and, and you know, serving in the Army and all that. And you know, for, gosh, for what you said like 10 years you’ve been retired, it, it must, must seem like, I dunno to you, does it seem like it was just yesterday that you were in, or, or does it seem like it’s been a while?

Jen Ballou: Yeah, that’s a great question. It depends on the day. I mean,

it doesn’t feel like 10 years.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: but at the same time, there are certain things that have [00:04:00] changed about the Army in specific that

I do feel very out of touch from. So,

Maybe a little bit of both.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Yeah, I, I know even just looking at like the uniform now is different from the uniform that.

I, I, I forget when they made that change. But from when I got out it, it was a different uniform. And you know, so I’m looking at that and I, I, I sort of feel the, the bones creaking and aching as I’m, I’m realizing I’m, I’m in the older generation that wore the older, older uniform, right?

Jen Ballou: Yeah, I mean, especially when I’m around military installations, a big one for me is

The female uniform. Like women can now

wear their, like hair

back in a ponytail like down

and they can also wear

earrings. Stuff like that just was

not a thing when I was serving. So Yeah.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Yeah.

Lots of changes. That’s, that’s cool.

So you deployed to Afghanistan, correct. And

Jen Ballou: I

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah.

Jen Ballou: Yep.

Scott DeLuzio: And while you were there kind of a, a sad and but also interesting story as well. Tell us a little bit about that [00:05:00] deployment and kind of what, what took place for you there?

Jen Ballou: Yeah, sure. So I was the first Sergeant for the two 57th Dental Company, which was part of the 44th medical brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. We were the first dental company to deploy to Afghanistan, and our mission was. To set up dental clinics throughout the country to primarily serve the war fighter. was my first deployment and it was something that I was really proud of and looking forward to, and, you know, trained and worked really hard in anticipation of that that time in my life. My husband Eddie, who was an infantryman, was also in Afghanistan. He was serving on his fourth combat deployment. the way that it was supposed to go was that he was finishing up his deployment as I was arriving. So there was gonna be a, a period of probably about two months where we were both there. And then he [00:06:00] would go home, redeploy and take care of the kids while I finished out the rest of my year. I had been in Afghanistan for about eight weeks and, had gotten called back to the office late one evening for my commander to tell me that he had been notified that Eddie had been, blown up up. He was on a patrol and he got blown up by an IED. And in those moments, the information that I was given was that he was being evacuated. had lost his left leg but they were fighting really hard to keep him alive and so. Eddie was in the south. He was in the southern part of Afghanistan in the Kandahar area, and my headquarters was in the north in Bagram. And so, he, I just remember him telling me, go pack a bag. We’re gonna get you there somehow. And so, I did end up flying to [00:07:00] Kandahar and you know, even though Eddie was an infantryman. On that particular deployment had lost quite a few men both their lives and to injuries. This just wasn’t something that I really. Thought would

happen. I mean, I knew it could, but you

just don’t think about stuff like that,

Scott DeLuzio: Right.

Jen Ballou: way to say it. And unfortunately, when I arrived to Kandahar Eddie had had passed away.

He lost his life, which was June 24th, 2010,

Minutes before he turned 35, right

before his

35th birthday.

Scott DeLuzio: Wow, that’s, I I actually have like chills right now after you know, hearing some of the story and like, I, I knew, I knew parts of the story. I didn’t know all the, the details of, of your, your, your story. And so first off, thank you for, for sharing that. But [00:08:00] I know the feeling of. What you were talking about of, you know, he, he was an infantryman.

You knew that that was a possibility that, that something could happen to him, but you kind of didn’t really give it too much too much thought probably.

Jen Ballou: Yeah.

Scott DeLuzio: and I was the same way. When my brother, my brother was an infantryman, I was an infantryman.

And we. Both were in Afghanistan at the same time.

I didn’t really give it much thought that something bad could happen to him because it was, it was naive looking back on it now. And my, my thinking anyways was, was naive because I just thought that those bad things happen to other people and that, that won’t affect us. That won’t happen to us. And, you know, I don’t know if that that was the same kind of mindset that you had, but that for sure, that was what I was thinking in, in my, my situation.

Jen Ballou: Yeah, I think, you know, know. I, I don’t know if I would call it naive thinking. I mean,

I just think as a service member

you have a mission.

Scott DeLuzio: Mm-hmm.

Jen Ballou: in order to accomplish [00:09:00] that mission, in a period of war or, you know, preparing to deploy, have to keep your eye on what’s ahead of you and, try to not let yourself,

you know, be swayed or thinking

about other things. I mean,

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: always say to me too, you know, I don’t know how you did it, how you, you know, left your kids. And it’s like, well, I mean, I get

I get those comments. But I think if

you wear the uniform, you get it.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: that I wanted to leave my kids or my family, when we ra raise our right hand and we say that

we’re going to protect and defend our nation,

You do what you’re told to do.

Scott DeLuzio: Right, exactly. And,

Yeah, the, the family,

Unfortunately in, in some cases in the military, the family sort of takes a backseat to what the mission is. And you know, in, in your case and your family’s [00:10:00] case, both you and your husband needed to be. In a place on the other side of the world away from your kids, you definitely didn’t wanna bring your, your family around, around that type of situation.

Not that you could anyways, but you know, that that was just a situation where they were better off, where they were, you know, staying, staying back home, and, and there there was nothing really you could do about that, you know? And, and that’s that’s kind of part of the deal that we all signed up for.

Now you came. You came back you know, obviously after that, that deployment. And did you, did you come back kind of with your husband kind of escorting him back home, or, or was that like, how did that all take place?

Jen Ballou: Yeah.

that’s a great question. I can say now that there was no better person to escort Eddie’s flag drape casket back to the United States than me, but that was certainly one of the most difficult days of my life. So yes, I, participated in the ramp ceremony and flew, you know, on multiple aircraft, bringing him back to the United States, to Dover Air Force Base. And then I was met there by my [00:11:00] casualty assistance officer. And, you know, began this process of. of the things that go along with something like that happening. ultimately, so like I mentioned, I was the first sergeant for a dental company. We had just gotten there. We had a big mission ahead of us and, it was almost

another loss when the decision

was made not to send me back.

Scott DeLuzio: Hmm.

Jen Ballou: And although I do agree that that was the best decision for myself and my children that was really tough for me to not go back with my company and

finish what we started. So, it, it was, it

was a really difficult time.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, I,

I, again, I’m, I, I have chills just hearing some of the story because it’s, it parallels so much with my own story and you know, I didn’t go back either and I, yeah, it, you could see both sides of it how I was good, but you also don’t wanna leave the, the folks that you were, were serving [00:12:00] with back there.

And so, you know, so it, it’s definitely difficult. But you know, while. You know, after coming back home and you know, that decision was made for you to, to stay home how did you balance that? The, the grief that you were, you were dealing with plus, you know, at some point you were getting back into military life, right?

That wa you, you, you retired a few years later. So, you know, how did you balance that all with you know, responsibilities as a soldier, as a mother and, and all of that? That, I can’t imagine that was, that was a very difficult time period to, to adjust to.

Jen Ballou: Yeah, I balanced it horribly. I think, like if I, I wish

I knew then what I know now. Like in

terms of taking care of myself. You know, I all of a sudden became a single mom of two young children who was also a senior NCO in the Army, who also months later, was asked to help stand up the resilience program for the largest [00:13:00] installation in the Army.

And ultimately I went to go work on that program at the Pentagon. and so I, it, it’s interesting like. I really believe that all of this happened for a purpose much larger than I can even understand today, but I still continued to give everything I had to the Army, and every time I was asked to do X, Y, z, I did it. You know, a hundred percent that I could. And so, know, my children continued to suffer. I did my best or so I thought at the time, and, were sort of forced, especially my daughter, Alexis. I mean my son Eddie was two at the time, and Alexis was 10 or 11. And I really [00:14:00] put her in a position where she had to grow up really fast because she ultimately took care of Eddie. A lot. I would maybe come home and feed them dinner and then go back to work, or, I was traveling a lot, so how did I balance it? I don’t really know that I did super well and I thank goodness, I thank God every day that they were super resilient

and super understanding. Even though

they didn’t have a

choice, they kind of did.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure. I mean, I, I could see it going one of two ways, right? You, you could put the kids in a, in a situation like that, and they, they do great and they, they are resilient and they’re, they’re able to handle it. You know, really well or could go the opposite way. And they, they start lashing out and they start, you know, acting up and, and causing trouble and, and just making things that much worse for, for everyone.

Not, not not [00:15:00] just themselves, but for you and for other, other folks who are around. But it seems like they. They did okay with that. You know, obviously no one’s gonna do great and and handle everything perfectly a hundred percent of the time because that’s, I mean, that, that they’d be robots if, if they, if they were able to do that.

Right? So they’re human and, and so you can’t expect perfection a hundred percent of the time. And, and you know, especially in a difficult situation like, you know, lose losing a father and you know, ha having mom having, having to continue to, to work and, and everything and, and which takes you away from them.

It, it’s. Not an easy thing, but you know, thank, thankfully they, they were able to kind of handle that. You know, so I gotta imagine that was probably one of the toughest parts about continuing your, your career. ’cause you could have chosen to, you know, retire at that point and, and gotten out of, of the military at that point.

You know, when, when your husband was killed I’m sure they, they probably, you know, offered that option to you. Maybe, maybe not directly, but that option was there. But you know. But then continuing that, that career [00:16:00] afterwards I, I would imagine the family life was, was probably one of the hardest things about it, right?

Jen Ballou: It. It definitely was. It definitely was. But you know, like as I’m thinking back on that time, and just back to that question of balancing it were things that I did to, just ensure or try to ensure that my children understood to the best of their ability, how important it was for me to continue serving while continuing to keep Eddie’s memory alive.

And so, you know, I found myself in a really interesting position just as a senior NCO. In this situation, more often than not, the spouse, and you can relate to this in a different way, but typically, you know, the family is not wearing the uniform so just, I had a different lens. I was able to see things a lot differently and was able [00:17:00] to use my experience to positively affect or impact. For example, the way that the casualty notification and assistance officer training was delivered at Fort Bragg I was able to share our story with so many different people in so many different situations, which I really quickly learned. Was not only helping other people, but it was also helping myself. so circling back to my kids, just talking to them about those things I think helped

them to understand my decision

to continue serving.

Scott DeLuzio: Well, and it also shows them too, that it’s, it’s okay to talk about these things. Like you’re, yeah, there’s gonna be days you’re gonna feel sad that you’re gonna miss dad, that you’re gonna be, you know, upset even, or whatever. And that’s normal. You’re, you’re supposed to feel that way from, from time to time, you know?

And, it’s also okay to talk about it and, and [00:18:00] showing them that, I think that that’s, that’s a good thing to be able to, to kind of lead by example in, in that way. I know kind of just, I, I had kind of the opposite reaction you know, from from my experience. I kind of, I, and again, I didn’t handle this in a, a great way either.

You know, so I think we all kind of just are thrown into the deep end and we have to kind of figure out how to tread water. While, while we’re, while we’re in there, but I, I just kind of gave up and I just, I said, you know, I don’t even care about the Army anymore. I, and I, I knew I wasn’t gonna be a good leader and I wasn’t gonna be a good soldier.

And I, I said, you know what? These, these guys who I was in charge of, they deserve better. And that’s, that’s why I decided to leave when I did. Because. I wasn’t going to be the, the, the leader that they needed. And so, and, and I, I knew that was only going to be you know, self-serving if I stayed in to just be like, oh, well this is, this is my career and I’m, I’m doing this for me.

I wasn’t gonna be a good soldier. I knew it. Just because I, I, my head wasn’t in, in the game anymore and I, I, so I, I decided to kinda walk away from it at that [00:19:00] point. Now, I know you, you mentioned having some impact on the casualty assistance you know, process and all that. What support did you get from, from them or from other folks throughout the military that you found to be helpful in this, this whole kind of process?

Jen Ballou: Oh yeah. You know, I often say that had

I not received the support that I did, I don’t, I

probably would’ve gone on a different

Scott DeLuzio: Mm-hmm.

Jen Ballou: of support that I received from my military Army family was tremendous. So. My casualty assistance officer Rebecca Leaseman, who is now just a very dear friend went above and beyond in every possible way that she could, but you know, also my chain of command all the way up to the highest levels.

Just did any and everything they could to and support. You know, my kids and I, not just initially, but really throughout the rest of my career. I [00:20:00] remember my last assignment was at the Pentagon my boss, his name is Colonel Ken Riddle, were times where something would come up where I would potentially have to travel for it and he would. Just try to make things not so difficult on me and you know, I didn’t like that actually, I

made the decision to continue to serve and I

don’t wanna be treated differently than

Scott DeLuzio: Right.

Jen Ballou: But to those around me, I think they saw it from a different lens. Like, wow, she’s. Wanting to continue to do this.

If we can

make things a little less difficult on her

or her kids,

we wanna, we wanna try to do that.

Scott DeLuzio: Mm-hmm.

Jen Ballou: mean, I could go on and on, but I

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah.

Jen Ballou: I had arms wrapped around me

from the very first moment until

after I left the army.

Scott DeLuzio: And I, I, I can kind of see it both ways. I, I see your point of like, [00:21:00] Hey, I, I made this decision. I’m, you know, I’m, I’m a grownup. I, I can make these decisions and I, you know, you don’t have to treat me differently. But but on the other hand, I could see the other side of it where, look, you’ve already given up so much.

You know, how can we ask you to.

Do anything more. You know, and if we can make it

whatever we are asking you to do, if we can make it just that much easier for you, then, then we’re, we’re gonna try to do that. And so I, I could see it both ways. And you know, the,

there’s no, I, I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to, to approach it, but, you know, it’s, it, it’s a difficult balance, I suppose.

Right. And

Jen Ballou: Yeah.

Scott DeLuzio: go ahead.

Jen Ballou: No, I just thought of something else. I,

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: I had this experience where shortly after Eddie died I was put on assignment PCS to Fort Leonard Wood Missouri to be a First Sergeant there. And I mean, without going into too much detail some pretty high level service members basically told me. [00:22:00] You chose to stay in the army.

So either you take this assignment and you go be before a sergeant again,

or you get out. Like those are your choices.

I was just like, holy shit. Like, wow. And there were leaders. That were a little bit higher than that, that caught wind of it and took care of the situation for me and allowed to

stabilize at Fort Bragg just for a little bit longer until

I was able to

get my footing again

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: be able to have my

personal affairs in order.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Well, so I suppose there is a wrong way to handle it.

But you know, look, looking at that, yeah, that’s, that’s probably not the best way to handle these things. It’s like, here, you know, either take this job or get out or, you know, whatever. And I don’t know that that kind of rubbed me the wrong way as you were saying it, I was like, oh, that whoever said that was, they, they definitely didn’t have the the bedside manner that, that they, they probably should have had.

You know, but, you know, it, it’s, again, it’s a difficult balance. And where do, where do you draw that line of, you know, [00:23:00] treat you like everybody else, and hey, yeah. Also recognize that there was a pretty large sacrifice there and, and you know, there, there’s a, where do you draw that line? And I, I suppose everyone’s gonna treat it a little bit differently.

Right. Now were there anything, like if you were to look back at this whole experience anything that you felt like the Army did. Well, or maybe didn’t do well to prepare families for this type of reality.

Jen Ballou: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, again, I just feel like I was in a little bit different of a situation. I. Because I was also wearing the uniform.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah.

Jen Ballou: a lot of the things that organizations do to prepare families for these, especially combat deployments, I wasn’t

necessarily participating in because I was

doing my own thing as well.

Scott DeLuzio: Right.

Jen Ballou: But I, I do wanna speak more

to like after it [00:24:00] happened,

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: preparing us for it. I mean, we were prepared I

think, much as we could

Scott DeLuzio: Mm-hmm.

Jen Ballou: much as we could be. But I mean, afterwards had some really great opportunities. I mentioned one influencing the casualty assistance and notification training at Fort Bragg, but I also got to sit on. The chief of the staff, chief of staff of the Army, has a survivor advisory working group, and it’s a, a group of men and women who are gold star families. From many different circumstances and situations, and I was one of two uniformed wearing gold star spouses and I got to impact or influence army policy, or it was actually, there was a policy created where future service members in similar situations, they could choose to stabilize if they wanted to for a [00:25:00] certain period of time. Or maybe they don’t wanna stay where they are and they wanna PCs somewhere else. And so having the opportunity and the voice heard at the highest levels on what that was like, being able to influence in the future who experienced similar situations

was something that I don’t take for granted.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s a kind of a, a powerful position to be in, to, to be you know, on, on a, a, you know, panel or board of, of, of people who are you know, basically directly influencing that type of policy through, you know, kind of the highest levels in, within the Army. And that’s you know, you gotta gotta realize that, like just how much.

Power is, is kind of being given to you by, by putting your yourself in this situation. But who better really to talk to this than the people who have lived it before. And you know, where you can look back and say, gosh, I really wish this was handled [00:26:00] differently. I wish it it went this way instead of that way.

Or, you know, that we had, you know, this. Type of resource or that type of resource. And, and being, just being able to voice those opinions I, I think is important because when you have people at the, the very top of the chain of command, who’ve maybe never experienced stuff like this before, you may bring a a point up in the discussion that they had never even considered before because they hadn’t lived through that before.

Not that, not to say that they’re, they’re stupid or anything like that, like, you know, very intelligent people. I’m sure you know, in, in terms of, you know, who was involved at all with all this. But but. If you don’t experience something for yourself, sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until it, until it happens.

And you know, even, even you just, you know, a few days prior to your husband’s passing, you didn’t know what you didn’t know either, you know? And, and it is like, that’s not to to blame anybody. It’s just, you know, once when you start living through it, then you get the experience and then, then you can start, you know, speaking from, from that [00:27:00] experience to kind of help other folks out.

And so I, you know, I’m, I’m glad that they. You know, kind of made the best of a bad situation where they, they were able to bring people in with those experiences. Yeah. Terrible experiences, but hey, you had to live that experience anyways. You might as well you know, make, make lemonade outta those lemons.

Right. You know, make, make something good out of it. And, and try to help other other gold star families who will come after you,

With, with some of these policy changes. And, and that’s, that’s a real powerful thing that, that, that you did. And yeah, I, I, I think, I don’t know that I, I would be able to turn something like that down.

Had, had that been offered to me, like, Hey, we have this position here and you could do, you know, X, y, and Z. That, that probably would’ve kept me in the army. You know, because I would’ve been like, yeah, there were, I had, I had some words that could have been said, you know.

Jen Ballou: Yeah. Well, it’s interesting. I mean, that opportunity didn’t come right away. It, it came like,

obviously after I had that experience where I was [00:28:00] almost, you know, sent to Fort Leonard Wood and, you know, if I would’ve been sent to Fort Leonard Wood, who knows what would’ve happened. But, I am grateful for that opportunity and something that I always would think about was, I mean, at the time I was a First Sergeant and I had access to the ear of some Senior Army people that, you know. Junior enlisted or junior soldiers probably didn’t have that same opportunity or won’t in the future. And so how can I this opportunity to help those people who maybe

their voices wouldn’t be heard or

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah,

Jen Ballou: the opportunity

that I

did during that time. And so,

it

was a blessing. An

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah.

Jen Ballou: blessing, but a [00:29:00] blessing,

nonetheless.

Scott DeLuzio: I wanna switch gears just a little bit here. I, I know we, we briefly mentioned at the beginning of the episode, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. Your, your work there as a chief of staff there, but you didn’t start off as chief of staff. How, how did you get involved with the Global War on Terrorism Memorial foundation, and you know, what, what kind of led you into that direction and, and to get into your current role?

Jen Ballou: Yeah. Thank you for that. Several years ago I received a message on LinkedIn, actually from the president and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, Michael Rodriguez. Just saying, you know, Hey, I’ve been working really hard on this project for the last several years. I would love to give you an update on where things are.

I’m just. Thinking of Absolutely. I knew a little bit about the work, but I didn’t know where they were at that point. And so he graciously spent probably a solid hour [00:30:00] just sharing everything with me, the the two bills that had been passed and all of the hard work that had gone into foundation up until that point.

And at the end of the conversation he said. You know, I, I know who you are. We’re connected through his, his ex-wife Kelly. I’ve known who you were for many years and I’ve always wanted to have you a part of the team. I’m going to be starting a fellowship program, and I’d like to invite you to be our first Gold Star fellow. And.

As you can probably relate to,

there was zero hesitation.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: yes, absolutely. So I am honored that I got to be the foundation’s first Gold Star fellow, which is an opportunity really to help spread awareness about the work that the foundation is. Doing in different ways. And I say Rod made the mistake of telling me that at some [00:31:00] point he wanted to bring me onto the team full time.

But, you know, stars had to align

Scott DeLuzio: Sure.

Jen Ballou: so I just made sure that I. Was very clear with him that if and when that situation presented itself, I was, I was all in no matter what opportunity was. And so, yeah, in November of 2023, he offered me the opportunity

to be

the chief of staff and

I’ve been

with the foundation ever.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s awesome.

Yeah. The, the foundation is such a, a, a great organization, not just the, the mission, but the people who are working for it. Everyone that, that I’ve met who is, is working for it has just been an incredible individual. So, so you guys have done a, a great job assembling a you know, rockstar team that, that is, that is out there.

But the important thing is, is the work that is being done for this, this memorial, and to me, when I first heard about [00:32:00] the memorial I was thinking to myself finally, you know, there’s gonna be something that that’s being built here. You know, for the, the global war on terrorism generation.

I, I guess you could pluralize that even if you want, but you know, because there’s just, it’s been such a, a long drawn out war. So many people were involved in it. Not just. From within the military, but civilians as well through you know, the FBI, the CIA, the you know, DEA, all, all these other alphabet soup organizations that are, that are out there, right.

And, but, but even the, the Gold Star families and, and you know, the, the other military families that, that are involved when their their loved one goes overseas to go fight in this war. They’re, they’re left back home holding down the fort. And so, when I first learned about this memorial, it, it was like, yeah, we recognize all these people.

It’s not just the people who didn’t make it home like, like your, your husband, my brother, and, you know, countless others. But there’s, there’s a lot of people [00:33:00] involved and we’re, we’re, you know, honoring and supporting all of these people. And, and I was like, that sounds awesome. Because, you, you don’t want to, you know, have this memorial and then be like, oh yeah, we’re, we’re forgetting about this whole other group of people.

And you know, we’re, we’re recognizing that there, this was truly a, a huge effort by. People all over the, the country and you know, it’s, it’s not just the people who wore the uniforms. And you know, when I, when I first learned of, of this memorial, I was thinking to myself, well, at least you know, by the time this memorial is finished I, I probably won’t have to be wheeled off of a, an airplane to go visit the, the memorial.

Like some of these World War II veterans you know, who are going to see the World War II Memorial who are, you know, in their, their nineties or so, or even. Even older you know, that it’s gonna be something that, you know, I can, I can walk to in my own two feet and, and it’s gonna be there you know, for, for generations to come.

And I, I think it’s just a, an incredible you know, thing that, that’s being done. And for the individuals who don’t know [00:34:00] about the memorial you know, every time I, I I talk to someone about it who hadn’t heard about it before, they’re like, wow, that’s, that’s amazing. And, and they’re, they’re super excited and, and really stoked about it.

So it’s really, truly a great. Project that to, to be involved in you know, for the Gold Star families. I, I kind of mentioned before, like that they’re kind of included in this, this memorial and, and kind of who’s being supported by it. I feel like, you know, you may be you know, one of the, the more uniquely qualified people to speak on this, having, having served and, and also having been you know, gold, gold star family member.

What do you hope that, you know, tho those families will be able to kind of get, take away from this, this memorial and, and, and get out of it?

Jen Ballou: Yeah, that’s such a great question.

You know, I always hesitate to speak

on behalf of groups of people because I think that all of our experiences are unique to us. However I do [00:35:00] hope that the Gold Star families in particular. Feel as though their sacrifice not in vain. Their family sacrifice was not in vain.

And that, our nation recognizes that, that, you know, as these losses were happening and the rest of the nation was. Kind of like continuing on and not really thinking much about we were doing over there. It wasn’t

for nothing and we are eternally grateful

for those sacrifices.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. You know,

I, I was in

DC a few years back and I. I went for a run in, in the morning around, around the mall area. And when I got to the Vietnam Memorial and I saw all the names [00:36:00] written on, on that wall I stopped and I, I kinda like, I, I just slowly like walked by and I, I was looking at ’em and to think that every single one of those names on that wall.

They had parents, they had, you know, they had possibly, they, they were, could have been married, they could have had kids, they could have had, you know, other, other people. There’s, there’s a person behind that name. It’s just, it’s not just a name etched in stone. There, there’s a person, there’s families, there’s people who cared about that person.

And when you, when you look at that and you, you kind of just think of. The gravity of, it’s not just one name. You look at it and there’s tens of thousands of names written all over the, the, the wall. Every one of those had a story. Everyone had a, had a background, and everyone you know, should be, you know, honored in, in, in, in a way that that’s fitting.

And, and so, you know, I, I think that this memorial is going to do just that for for this generation of, of, this war [00:37:00] really, that, you know, everyone who, who participated in this in one way or another it’s, it’s gonna be there to, to help kind of say, Hey, we’re, we’re not gonna forget. The sacrifices that were made, whe whether someone didn’t make it home or they you know, maybe, maybe didn’t come home whole you know, they, they could have lost something over there.

And you know, we’re, we’re, we’re gonna remember them and we’re gonna remember everybody and all of the sacrifices that were made you know, big and small. And, and that’s that’s why I think it’s so, so important that it’s being done now and, and not, you know, waiting 50 years from now or, you know, something where you know, it’s.

At that point, kind of a starting to fade out in, in people’s memories. And, and so having something there you know, concrete and solid in, in the moment of, you know, when it’s still fresh in our minds, is, I think is important. You know.

Jen Ballou: Yeah, and something else I think is important to mention here too. I mean, you’ve done a good job of saying a few times that you know, this memorial will honor. Absolutely those lives that were lost, but also the uniformed [00:38:00] wearing men and women who served in the global war on terrorism, the non-uniform wearing men and women, the families those whose lives have been lost since returning home perhaps by you know, cancer or perhaps death by suicide or multiple other ways. This memorial will tell the whole story. Of all of the people who served and sacrificed in this war that continues today. I think that’s the part

that is really important too, is it’s not only those

who did, but those who are and will. So we’re building a memorial for the future as well, for things that, people who are currently and will continue to serve in this global war on terrorism that no end in sight. So,

I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that as well.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, and that’s a good point and I, I kind of failed to mention that, but yeah, it, I think a lot of people.

Don’t realize what [00:39:00] you just said there. It to be, to be true. That, you know, this is, this is kind of an ongoing thing. This is not you know, like, it, it’s not, it wasn’t done just because we pulled out of Afghanistan, you know, back in, you know, four, what, what is it, four years ago now?

Just because we, we pulled out of there that, that wasn’t the end of the war. I mean, that was the end of our time in Afghanistan. You know, for sure. But, doesn’t mean that there aren’t still troops being deployed overseas. I mean, there, there’s people going all, all over and, and there’s still there’s still fight to be had.

So, you know, I, I think, I think that is an important thing. And you know, even amongst some service members, I, I think, and, and veterans, I, they don’t necessarily realize that it’s still an ongoing thing. And, and so, this is. This is a big piece of that, and, and I’m, I’m glad that that you mentioned that because, you know, that is an awareness piece that we need to you know, make, make people understand is, is that there, there is a there’s still a fight going on and, and it’s, yeah.

Jen Ballou: [00:40:00] Yeah. Education is a huge part of our, our role or our mission, if you will, is just ensuring that any opportunity that we get to educate about the global war on terrorism and or who this memorial will honor,

Is, is something that we do

every chance that we get.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. And,

I know just through the, the few events that I’ve participated in, as far as, you know, kind of talking about the the memorial and, and everything about it you know, it, it, it seems like it, it’s touching to everybody whether they served or not just. Knowing that there’s, there’s something that’s going to be there, and it, it’s, it’s really important to keep that education piece going to, to help, you know, raise awareness and make sure that people understand what, what this is all about.

If you were able to speak directly to fam other families of the fallen you know, coming from your, your background, your perspective as, as a veteran, as a Gold star family member, but if you could speak [00:41:00] directly to some of them, what, what message would you want to leave them with as far as, you know, what this memorial is?

You know, from your perspective, not, not saying, you know, kind of in general, you know, for, for everybody, but, but you know, the, maybe a better way to phrase that is what’s the importance of, of this memorial to you specifically?

Jen Ballou: Yeah. Well thank you for that question. The, the foundation has four tenants that are really our, our North Star or, you know, the, the things that keep us on a path moving forward. And they are honor heel. And unite. so this memorial will do those things. We will honor that have been lost in this. Ongoing war as well as the other groups of people who I mentioned or we’ve mentioned that have served and sacrificed honor heal. We know that this memorial [00:42:00] will provide an opportunity for healing in in many different ways. That will make more sense once the design is public honor, heal, empower. This memorial will empower. Others to share stories and experiences that perhaps that they haven’t and unite this memorial will unite, many different groups of people, but largely our nation. Our, we believe, we know that this memorial will unite all Americans and help them understand everything that.

Our men and women have given

everything for,

Scott DeLuzio: Absolutely. That’s really, I think, wonderfully said and, and really.

Kinda what motivates me about this memorial and, and gets me kind of, kind of [00:43:00] fired up is that it, it touches on all those points and, and it will, it’s gonna bring a lot of people together. It’s gonna heal some people. It’s gonna, it’s gonna just really make, make make us all stronger and, and better off together through the work that, that we’re all doing here for, for this memorial.

So, I think with that though, i, it’s been an incredible conversation. You definitely have an incredible history and, and background. And you know, I, I think I. I don’t think they, they could have picked a better person for the, the role that you have. And I, I, I think it’s just going, it’s only gonna get better, you know, as, as the design comes out and, and things really start progressing forward.

And, and we’ll, we’ll start to see some momentum here shortly when, when this, this design is eventually released. But before we wrap up, is there anything else that you, you’d like to add that maybe we didn’t touch on, didn’t cover either about your personal story or about the memorial or, or anything else that you’d like the audience to know about?

Jen Ballou: yeah, I would just encourage the [00:44:00] audience, if you’re not familiar with the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, or the work that we’re doing, or even if you are, but you wanna keep up with, you know, the next several benchmarks that we cross. You can visit it. We’re pretty easy to find.

You can Google us, but we do have a website and you can go to our website and sign up for our newsletter. We usually send out an email once a month just sharing with our audience what we have going on. And then you can also follow us on social media. We’re on LinkedIn, Facebook. Instagram and X and if you do have any questions

specifically that I didn’t cover feel free to reach out.

We’d love to

connect.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I’m gonna put all those links into the show notes, so for the listeners, you can check those, those out there. And there, there’s contact information on the website and, and all that stuff too. And. Importantly too, if this, any of this kind of resonated with any of the listeners [00:45:00] here and, and you want to support the memorial in any way there’s also donation information on the website as well.

So, you know, if that, that. You feel you know, moved to make a donation, please absolutely. Go ahead and do that. Every, every little bit will will help kind of push this across the finish line. So, Jen, thank you again so much for coming on the show. This has been a wonderful con conversation and you know, thank you again for sharing your, your story.

It’s, it’s been a pleasure getting, getting to hear a little bit more about it.

Jen Ballou: I

appreciate you. Thanks for having me as a guest.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you bet.​