- Thanks for joining usfor CBN's On the Homefront,

where we highlight what the men and women

of America's military doto defend our country.

I'm Mark Martin.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Carlos Techera

was involved in a BlackHawk helicopter crash

while deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.

Since then, he has overcome adversity

and continues to teach and motivate others

to push through their adversity

to accomplish their goals.

(music)

(waves crashing)

- So we were on a routine mission to Maru

to a local ANA compound.

We took small arm fire thenwe hit a telephone tower

and flipped as we were landing.

I pulled out eight of my squad members

with my 240 Gunner.

I just want, I just want my guy back.

I just wanted Jake back.

What I did was what any NCO would do.

This is literally thefoundation of my support.

I don't think I would beanywhere I am accomplished

without that support channel,and that support system I have

through my wife and my kid,and her family and my family.

Going through Air AssaultSchool here at the 25th ID

was the first time I was ina UH-60 after my accident.

Needless to say, I was super nervous.

I talked to my platoon sergeant for hours,

to the point where he just told me,

"You just need to get it done.

"You gotta stop thinking so negatively

"that it's gonna happenagain when you have

"no idea what could happen."

He told me to call my buddywho was also in the crash.

He explained to me that Icouldn't live in fear anymore.

It was over a year.

If I let that fear just crippleme, and just handicap me,

I wouldn't be able to go onand progress in my career.

And, I took that toheart, and I'm still here.

(helicopter blades)

I had four pictures laminated in my pocket

throughout Ranger School.

And every time I feltlike I wanted to quit,

I would just reach into mypocket and pull those out,

and just suck it up and keep going.

(helicopter blades)

(crowd cheering)

It was probably one ofthe most amazing feelings

in my military career.

You don't earn your Tab,it's the guys around you;

that is the truest statement in world,

next to never forget any man.

The guys that I was with just pulled me

in some of the lowesttimes I had to graduate.

But, at graduation, Igot pinned by my wife.

And it was just a surreal experience.

- [Announcer] 142, representingthe 25th Infantry Division,

First Lieutenant, Travis Smith

and Staff Sergeant Carlos Techera.

(cheering, clapping)

- I had a no-quit mentality.

I felt that I wascomplete well trained up.

I was looking at othercompetitors and everything

and I felt personally that I could hang

with the majority of everyone.

(cheering)

At Best Ranger, we had 51teams, all Ranger qualified,

if not more qualified than that.

I felt just in awe of everything.

My one piece of advice wouldbe, "You're not the first one

"to go through it, and you'renot gonna be the last one."

As long as you take it day by day,

even if you're only feeling better

or less stressed 1% everyday than the day before,

it's still 1%.

- For the crew of the CoastGuard Fast Response Cutter,

Robert Ward, their journeyfrom getting underway

for the first time tothe ship's commissioning

has been a unique one.

The Robert Ward is the second and newest

fast response cutter to bestationed in California,

and will provide additionalsupport to Coast Guard missions.

- To be operational experience

for the pre-commissioningcrew is nothing short

of phenomenally rewarding.

All the 12 months of hard work and effort

that we put into getting theship from the manufacturer

to home port and be ableto stretch your sea legs

to culminate with saving three lives

out of the Pacific Ocean was one

of the most rewarding facetsthe crew could ever experience.

So, one of the biggest thingsthat the fast response cutter

brings to the table isits mission capabilities

are so far advanced fromwhat our previous class

of cutters were.

Our crew is capable of conducting 24 seven

extended operations for upto three weeks at a time.

We have the ability toreach 2500 nautical miles

and keep speeds up toand including 30 knots.

An extensive array of monitoring systems,

communications suites, and weapons systems

that are so far advancedfrom any predecessor,

that there's really no comparison.

What are we looking forward to the most

out of this commissioning?

Getting into the game.

We're taking a brandnew Coast Guard asset,

introducing her to the fleet.

We've already gotten alittle bit of experience

under our belt, so being ableto take a fully commissioned,

fully capable mission-readycutter and bring it

into the mission set for the Coast Guard,

and be able to put our markin history with the cutter

is something that theentire crew is really

looking forward to, giventhat our first patrol out,

we were able to save three lives.

So, we're all really excited to see

where the cutter's goingto go further down the line

and into the future.

(engine revving)

- Sergeant Stephen B. Rodriguez,an Innovation Cell Chief

with Combat Logistics Battalion453, says his team continues

to develop cost-efficient innovations

to help further the army.

Take a look.

(engine revving)

Name's Sergeant Stephen Rodriguez.

I'm here in San Jose,California, as a member

of the innovation cell, currently serving

as the Innovation Chief.

Reserve Marines often bring different

educational experiences to the fight.

The ones that we foundhere have college degrees

or are currently pursuingthings in the STEM field.

Because of that, we can use their talents

in the Marine Corpsreserve and that will be,

in my mind, a force multiplier.

So, tackling issues first, within MFR,

will allow us to refinesolutions before exposing them

to the active component.

Currently, we have one 3D printer

and what we've been utilizingthis printer mostly for

is the body for our drone.

So, all the electrical components now fit

into a 3D printed body that myself

and a couple of the otherMarines have designed.

The drone project we'recurrently working on

has two cameras, one facingforward for the operator,

and an underbelly camerathat allows them to see

kind of surveillance footageof, really, anything below it.

This can be used for reconnaissance.

We're currently working onthe ability to modify it,

so that way, we cantailor it to the mission.

We currently have a prototypedmotion sensor camera

that can track colors,shapes, as well as bar codes,

and we'd like to apply thatto our drone in the future

so that way we can utilizesome of the functionality.

With our limited funding, we have taken

what very little we haveand tackled big ideas

to do our part within theMarine Corps' increasing need

in the innovation field.

With a little bit more, Ithink we could definitely help

the Marine Corps, morethan they may even realize

at the moment.

- Coming up, how CBN is stepping in

to help a military family in need.

- Thanks for staying with us.

CBN honors the men andwomen in our military

with an initiative calledHelping the Home Front.

It partners with churchesacross the country

to meet the needs oftheir military families.

From repairing homes toproviding financial support,

to wiping out medicalbills for wounded veterans.

For this family, CBN Helpingthe Home Front stepped in

right when they needed them to.

- [Narrator] Right outsideFort Bragg, North Carolina,

you'll find E-4 Armysoldier, Jesse, spending time

with his wife, Melissa,and their four children.

Melissa is grateful that Jessemakes family time a priority.

- I'm really proud of himand I feel like he provides

for our family and he'sserving our country,

and so he's happy and I'm happy.

- [Narrator] Jesse feelsMelissa's job taking care

of the kids is just as critical.

- I almost feel like she has the hard job,

to be honest with you.

Just having the mental strengthshe does is incredible.

- [Narrator] When they got married,

Melissa had finishedcollege and intended to work

to add to the family income.

Their priorities changed astheir family grew to six.

And Melissa started homeschooling

instead of pursuing a career.

Through the years, Jesse'sincome alone couldn't keep up.

Eventually, they were way behind

on Melissa's student loan payments.

- It feels like a heavy burden.

It would take forever topay it off, basically.

It just got to the pointwhere we either have to eat,

or pay off student loans.

- [Narrator] To add totheir money problems,

they learned their familyvan required costly repairs.

At the same time, they neededto buy beds for the twins,

who had outgrown their toddler beds.

They'd have to put theexpenses on a credit card.

Through it all, the couple trusted

that God would take care of them.

- God has done so manymiracles in my life,

that there's no way that somewaythis isn't gonna work out.

- [Narrator] Theirsituation took a huge turn

when their church, River House,

contacted CBN's Helping the Home Front.

Pastor Stacy Long invited the couple over

to tell them that CBN was goingto pay for the van repairs

and buy beds for the twins.

- Do you think the kids- Cause they're girls.

- will be excited?- Yeah, they'll be excited.

- [Narrator] And, therewas another surprise.

- Another thing that Helpingthe Home Front wants to do

is they are going to payoff your student loan,

so it goes away.

What do you guys think about that one?

- That's amazing.

That's amazing.

I think I'm a littlebit in shock. (laughter)

I don't know; I don't know what to think.

I don't even know what to say,

but I'm really thankful.

- It's absolutely amazing.

- [Narrator] CBN arrangedto fix the van and then

took them shopping to pickout beds for the twins.

Now that Melissa's studentloans are paid in full,

the family can finally get ahead.

- I've been praying fora long time that somehow,

someway, that God wouldcome through for us,

and he has today, with CBN.

- Stay tuned.

We'll be back after the break.

- Welcome back.

Phillip Johnson is an Armymusician and comic book author.

He takes us on a journeyfor a day as he fulfills

his many roles as a soldier,musician, teacher, father,

and comic book writer.

- Hey, America.

I'm Phillip Kennedy Johnson.

I'm a soldier; I'm amusician; a teacher; father

and comic book writer.

(music)

- Before I got to the Army, I was playing

in the Glenn Miller Band.

I was there for about a year and a half.

And while I was there,I kind of had my eye

on the military for other jobs.

It's great have a jobwhere you not only get

to do what you love, butyou're doing it for reasons

that really matter.

(trumpets playing)

So, rehearsal's over and now it's time

to put on my other hat.

So, now we're at Ariel's house.

She's one of my favorite students.

I've been teaching hertrumpet for several years.

We're working now on variationson a theme From Norma.

Okay, back to work.- Yep.

- We're gonna get back to this lesson,

and I'll catch up with you guys later.

(trumpets playing)

So, obviously, I have twocareers going right now.

Music and then writing.

The more I learn about both,

the more I feel like they're connected,

or at least, they're similar,rather than connected.

Getting better at one hasmade me better at both.

Actually, my way in to comics ...

everyone's got their own story

about how to break into comics.

I mean, there's anadage that once a person

breaks into comic, that path in

is forever closed to everyone else.

Everyone has their ownunique way to break in

and it's hard for anyone.

My way was I actuallywrote a kind of, an essay.

A blog post, basically,but kind of an essay,

comparing the comics medium to jazz,

and how they're similar.

Writing comics, you are basicallymaking small group jazz,

a small group, like a jazz combo.

You've got, maybe, ahorn, piano, bass, drums,

and if you replace any one person,

the product completelychanges. (trumpet playing)

I learned how to read from comics,

when I was just a little bitty kid.

By the time I went off to kindergarten,

I was already using words,like nuclear reactor.

I knew I had such a legup on every other kid,

because I had read so many comics already.

- Cool.

- Who's on that one?

- Batman.- Who else?

- Ace and Robin.

- You gonna do the honors?

Pull it out?

Yeah!

(sniff) This is on old newsprint,

that's why it smells like that.

Do you smell the book?

Smells like old paper.

Time for us to make onemore change, eh Batman?

Yes, the change back toour other identities,

Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.

- [Batman Mask] Yay!

Your day's over.

Time for justice.

(music)

- So right now, we'regoing to Third Eye Comics.

I love this store.

So, when I first startedgetting back into comics,

maybe six or sevenyears ago, I saw a flyer

stuck in the mediansomewhere, near Anapolis,

for Third Eye Comics,and it had an address

and I checked it out, and the store owner,

a guy named Steve, and his wife, Trish,

were unbelievably helpfuland just super into it.

They're clearly in itfor the love of the game.

Just awesome to talk to.

I didn't know anythingabout comics anymore.

I knew what I knew from theold days, when I was a kid.

A new take on the X-Men,called Astonishing X-Men,

that Joss Whedon had written,and Steve was so excited

about that one, he rippedthe plastic off of it

to show it to me, just to flip through,

no pressure to buy it, he just wanted

to show me the artwork by John Cassaday.

And he was so into it, itwas just really infectious.

(music)

One very cool thing aboutthis job is coming to a store

and seeing your work on shelves.

It's really exciting.

Just never really gets old.

So, they have a couple copiesof Last Sons of America.

Last Sons was my firstpublished graphic novel.

It's basically a world in which Americans

can't have kids anymore.

I try to tell stories that matter to me

and then dress them up inexciting, comic-booky ways.

So, writing originalstories, your own stories,

is extremely exciting and super fun.

It's also really fun to do licensed work.

I didn't know how I wasgonna feel about that,

if that opportunity evercame, but when it did,

it was incredibly fun.

I think my first one was Adventure Time.

I was like, "Yes, I love Adventure Time."

And I'd never seen it and I just started

mainlining the show, and it was really fun

to get into a show that Ididn't know I was gonna like,

but ended up really digging it.

So that was a fun opportunityand that led to an opportunity

to write The Power of theDark Crystal, which was

a huge thrill, 'cause I'm thebiggest Jim Henson fan ever.

I mean, it's a guy whose whole life

is just about making beautifulthings and being creative

and just putting beautifulthings in the world,

making it a better place.

I love his work.

So, getting to write DarkCrystal was ridiculous.

Okay, America.

Thanks so much forspending the day with me.

I'm Phillip Kennedy Johnson.

It's been a pleasure.

Batman is getting a little wiped here,

we're gonna get him back to the cave.

- Don't go anywhere.

We'll be back after this.

- For one Navy veteran,his goal is to help others

fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

Take a look.

- My name is Jason Hardebeck.

I was in the United States Navy.

I was commissioned fromthe Naval Academy in 1987

and I served five years asa Surface Warfare Officer

with Nuclear Engineering.

I did not really grow up withentrepreneurs in my family.

Probably as a kid, I justbecame fascinated with the idea

of creating your job.

I used to read a lot of books and stories

about people who started with an idea

and grew it into a huge company.

After I left the Navy,I worked for a number

of different start-ups indifferent technology fields,

and just kind of foundmyself working my way

towards becoming an entrepreneur.

Every bit of my success as an entrepreneur

can be directly linked backto my military experience.

Both four years at theacademy and five years

as a commissioned officer.

(pounding)

The most rewarding partof being an entrepreneur

to me is to create somethingthat takes on a life

of its own without you.

I've always found it incrediblysatisfying to be able

to kind of step back andsee that organization

continue on or thrive.

Being an entrepreneurgives me an opportunity

to tackle things thatI decide are important.

The leadership andmanagement skills I learned

in the military are absolutely essential

to any of the jobs I've had,

let alone being an entrepreneur.

You become an entrepreneurbecause you want

to make a difference; youwant to change the world

in whatever way you decide.

To me, that's the kindof mark I want to make,

is doing something nobodyelse has ever done.

- That's gonna do it for thisedition of On the Home Front.

Thanks for watching.

Have a great day.