Less than one percent of the entire country serves in the military at any given time nowadays, which is perfectly fine from a national security perspective, according to experts on the matter, but that situation becomes problematic on other fronts once we consider how it might affect our democracy, civilian engagement with foreign policy, or the very social contract that holds us all together.

Asking so few to carry a burden so large, one that we’ve all benefited from regardless of our personal politics, is not a deal that comes without consequences. What happens during war time doesn’t end when the war ends, if the wars of our time ever end anymore. It doesn’t end when a service member comes home either, in fact coming home is often more dangerous for a lot of people than being deployed.

The transition back to the civilian world has always been a lonely one, but coming home to a place where most civilians have no idea what service members have done, and have some major misconceptions about it, makes it more so. And while not all of our veterans need help, some do.

The 22 veteran suicides that happen every day on average demonstrates that fact, a number that far outpaces the rate of casualties that have resulted from combat or accidents in the line of duty. And until all of us have some idea about who our military is and what their lives are like, we won’t know how to stop it.

So we started this program to ask questions, hear stories, and learn. Because that’s what we know how to do.

But we’re not just listening and asking questions because it’s ethically imperative; we’re listening because what they have to say is compelling, and artfully rendered, funny, poignant, surprising, and all the other things you want from good storytelling.

Some of the voices you’ll be hearing from are studied writers who want to do this for a living, and others are fascinating individuals we’ve met along the way who have a great tale to tell that we wanted to share with you. But one thing holds true for all of them and it is this: the men and women you’re going to meet are artists. Full stop. Who are also veterans. So we regarded them as such.

On behalf of all our contributors, past, present, and future, thank you for making this possible and for being our audience. The reader completes the writer, and it’s an enormous privilege to have this forum where we can all sit down and talk together at last.

Contributors: Jesse Goolsby and Adam Stone.

“Tell me a Story!” He said. “I’ll tell you a story.”

Invasion can be both psychological and literal. We’re very lucky to be able pair up two contributors who dealt with invasion and actually served together at the same time in Iraq, but from very different places. Our contributors are Francisco Martinezcuello, a mustang officer, and Sammi S., an Iraqi man who was barely a teenager when he became an interpreter for the Marine Corp., and in a very literal way was raised by them.

Contributors: Francisco Martinezcuello and Sammi S.

Navigating the present, alongside past and future.

Today’s show, “Unstuck in Time,” is titled after the opening line in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five, one of our favorite descriptions about Post Traumatic Stress. Vonnegut uses it in reference to his main character, where he writes, “Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.” Upon first reading the book, it’s natural to take it literally — the book is couched in a science-fiction veneer after all –but upon later reflection its remarkable how perfectly it explains the phenomenon of flashbacks.

Contributors: Benjamin Busch and Sierra Crane.

Today’s show is titled, with our tongues lodged firmly in our cheeks, “The Undesirables,” because it features two wonderful veteran voices who speak on the subject of having to hide aspects of their personal identities which–at the time–could have been viewed as obstacles to their military careers.

Contributors: Lisbeth Prifogle and Anthony Moll.

We’re spending this hour with our friend, writer, performer, and veteran Navy officer, James Seddon. James is one of the founding members of So Say We All’s Veteran Writers Program, is published in the first Incoming anthology, and has performed his writing all over San Diego. Though he’s been working diligently on his memoir, he came by to share some of his incredible stories about the labels placed upon service members, enemies, and veterans.

On today’s show we’re talking with two enlisted veterans who rose to the top of their respective fields in civilian life: Navy veteran Chef Geoff Cole, and Army veteran and author Dr. Roy William Scranton.

Contributors: Roy Scranton and Chef Geoff Cole

This episode is split between two conversations–both about many things–but sharing the theme of protecting others and how that relates to one’s identity. In the second half of today’s show we’re going to be talking with two members of Veterans Respond, which mobilizes veteran volunteers to areas of natural or man-made disasters; but first up, we’re with writer and active duty Air Force officer Matthew Komatsu.

The Duffel Blog satire news website is known as The Onion of the armed services, fearlessly pilloring military culture, saying truths to power with biting comedy that every service member and veteran wished they could have said to their command while in uniform. But the grunts aren’t the only ones who love it; General Mattis himself is a self-proclaimed fan. This episode’s guest is the man who brought that gift to us: Paul Szoldra, who continues his mission through real-time analysis of military foreign policy, not only through satire, but as a voice of someone who thoughtfully served.

In this episode of Incoming, we’re speaking with playwright Delia Knight, whose relationship with her best friend and Marine brother suffered – and endured – throughout his deployment and subsequent transition back home. Delia’s full-length play, Disappearing Act, illustrated the agony she witnessed in her brother as he came back home in body only, and their struggles as a family and his as a veteran to reconcile what was forever lost and what future they might have together. Delia speaks about the role she played in her brother’s return from role, most insightfully in what she chose to allow and where boundaries needed to be drawn.