Military Broadcast Radio principal Joel Hunt is an Army Veteran. The mission of MBR is to provide a forum to help Veterans heal by teaching them to host their own radio programs.

Joel’s path into the military is an ageless one. He had his heart broken. Joel was driving a Humvee that was hit by an improvised explosive device. While he has memory issues his DD-214 states it was not the only time. He still suffers from a traumatic brain injury and partial paralysis of his leg. His physical injuries are healing but he feels his TBI is getting worse. The way he describes it is “I’m forty four years old and I feel like I have the brain of a sixteen year old.”

After being medically retired, he was briefly confined to a wheelchair. His parent lived with him for over a year to help with his rehabilitation. They encouraged Joel to attend a TBI camp in Breckenridge, Colorado where he was introduced to skiing. He would go on to compete in the Sochi 2014 Paralympic games.

Joel met station owner Jim Butler in 2015 and shared his vision for Military Broadcast Radio. Butler loved the idea and when he retired transferred the reins to Joel.  Joel sees his role as a teacher and mentor for his Veteran broadcasters, most of who broadcast from home studios. MBR also helps them get their programming on stations.  Joel emphasizes that one of the keys to addressing PTSD is staying busy and he likes to think they are helping in that vein.

One of his female DJ’s hosts a show called “Yes I AM a Veteran”. We discuss the challenges that “battle sisters” still face in context of the recent Female Veterans Day June 12^th.

Any Veterans who would like to get involved can contact Joel at Manager@mbradio.us

TAKEAWAY:  “It’s my dream to have a studio available to Veterans in every town so they can have their voices heard. “