Army Veteran Toni Lavery: Resilience, Vision Loss & Service
6/2/20261 hr 7 min
On this episode of We’re Out of Time, US Army veteran Toni Lavery joins host Richard Taite to discuss her journey through military service, motherhood, and a life-changing health challenge. After serving for over two decades, Tony shares how she is navigating her identity transition and leading the first all-women commemorative jump into Normandy for the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.
In this episode, Tony highlights the importance of advocating for one’s own health while managing vision loss and explains how the Fox Force Foundation is building a vital community for women veterans to find mentorship through shared resilience. The conversation also covers strategies for managing stress, prioritizing family wellness, and maintaining a strong partnership while both spouses serve.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsToni Lavery· Guest0:00
Nobody knows me. I'm nobody to these, like, to anyone really. Like, who am I? And, uh, then I realized, like, oh, it's 'cause I'm the only girl who just jumped. That's what's going on, and there's ladies giving me babies, and then there was, like, women up to, like, their 90s just crying. And, you know, to me, what it said was that they needed to see women doing non-traditionally women things, and that they could basically do whatever they want in this world if they just put their mind to it. Like, you could be a parachutist if you want in a time when women weren't even allowed to serve in the military really, you know?
Speaker 20:35
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Richard Taite· Host1:11
Today on We're Out of Time, we have an incredible guest joining us. US Army veteran Toni Lavery served our country for more than two decades with multiple combat deployments, and today she's taking everything she learned through service, trauma, resilience,