Local veteran podcast wins three national awards

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 11/12/21

FOLEY - When SkillMil began the podcast Diapers and Deployments less than a year ago, the goal was to assist and entertain veterans and their families worldwide. Now, the pair of local hosts holds …

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Local veteran podcast wins three national awards

Posted

FOLEY - When SkillMil began the podcast Diapers and Deployments less than a year ago, the goal was to assist and entertain veterans and their families worldwide. Now, the pair of local hosts holds three national awards and are realizing their dream of helping military families around the globe.

The podcast, which discusses everything from veteran employment opportunities to finances to benefits programs, was created and is hosted by Mike Hinkle, SkillMil president and master chief (ret.) and former Navy ombudsman and military wife of 20 years Serena Moyer.

This year marks the first for the Veteran Podcast Awards, presented by Broken Jarhead. Diapers and Deployments walked away with the win for Veteran Business Podcast of the Year, Navy Podcast of the Year, and Veteran Podcast of the Year.

“We were nominated in all three categories, and we actually won all three,” said Hinkle. “Winning Veteran Podcast of the Year, we’re pretty happy, and the first one ever. It feels good.”

Hinkle said for the first year, the award organizers sent out notifications to veteran podcasts to alert them to the contest and the open nomination period.

After thousands of nominations were cast, he and Moyer were contacted to announce their wins. But what sets Diapers and Deployments apart? Hinkle says it’s because the show is unscripted and they’re “just funnier.”

Hinkle says while some veteran podcasts are “formatted to simply give facts,” Diapers and Deployments is meant to educate veterans while also put a smile on their face and give them a laugh.

Each show starts with Hinkle and Moyer discussing life for 15 minutes. Hinkle spent 31 years in the military, while Moyer spent 20 years as a military spouse. According to Hinkle, this has given them a different view on life and of the military, allowing them to offer discussions on both sides.

At the end of the show, a special guest is brought on to discuss a multitude of topics meant to educate, assist and entertain veterans and their families.

“It’s grown and every week we get new listeners,” said Hinkle. “I’m happy with our progress and I’m happy that we’re doing it our way and it’s working … I hope everyone just keeps listening and we’ll keep trying to be funny. We appreciate the fact that people do listen and we have lots of great comments. We’ve had no negativity, which is a big part of our show. We want a positive vibe for our listeners, we want to have fun and be informative, and I just appreciate them listening. It’s been great for me and Serena, and it’s my favorite thing that I do right now, it’s a way to give back and it’s a way to have fun.”

“This is such a great place to live and the community here supports the military,” Hinkle said. “There’s just a strong military connection and the support for the military is unbelievable here, so I love this place and we’re going to keep growing the podcast and we’re going to keep getting national recognition, and people will hear about Foley, Alabama. We get a ton of support and I love the area and I love our listeners, and we’re going to keep having fun.”

The Diapers and Deployments Podcast can be found online at www.skillmil.com/podcast. It can also be found on most podcast streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Google Podcasts.

Learn more about SkillMil on LinkedIn and Facebook. Visit www.skillmil.com to learn more about job opportunities for veterans or to sign up for a telehealth program for veterans and their families. Visit www.veteranpodcastawards.com to learn more about the inaugural awards.