Podcast aims to help military dads connect with families

One Milton veteran and father hopes his podcast can help military dads reconnect with their families after coming home from deployment.

Retired Marine Ben Killoy started his

back in January, trying to connect with his brothers his arms by sharing his own struggles.

"When I came home, I was a very lonely person," Killoy said.

Killoy served for four years in the Marine Corps, spending three stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

"I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school," he said.

When he left the Marines, he returned home to start a family. Killoy has three kids, two daughters and a son.

However, after life overseas, coming back home wasn't easy.

"I essentially got lost in the civilian world because I followed the program but I really didn't know who I was," Killoy recalled.

Killoy said he has seen other service members go through similar struggles trying to re-integrate with their families.

"You have to learn how to become a part of your family again because military families learn how to create a life without one person in it," he said.

Killoy wanted to help military dads reconnect with their families, and he thought he might be able to do it with a podcast.

"That was just my idea, it really wasn't solidified, I really didn't fully believe it yet," he said.

Now every week, Killoy sits down with fellow servicemen to talk about the struggles that come with balancing a military career and fatherhood.

"The simplest thing we can do as a dad is just show up in their lives, just be there, because how they know that we love them is just being present," Killoy said about engaging with kids.

When Killoy explained his podcast idea to a military spouse, he said it brought her to tears. For him, that was all the convincing he needed to give it a try.

"For her, she described her husband as coming home physically, but never really coming home mentally," Killoy said, describing the spouse's reaction.

In January 2019, Killoy officially launched his podcast. He hopes sharing his story encourages more dads to open up about their struggles and be vulnerable with their families.

"They aren't alone, and every feeling that they're having has been felt a thousand times over in the history of humanity," Killoy said.

This podcast is not just a hobby for Killoy. He hopes to develop it into a successful business, giving him enough time to be a stay-at-home dad and take care of his three kids.