Late For Changeover

Beauty Queens, Bomb Tracks & Hypersonic Dreams (Jan 10 24)

This week on Late For Changeover, we’re firing up a launch window of chaos and curiosity. First up: the Pentagon’s latest space-age tag team—agencies joining forces to launch hypersonic tracking satellites because apparently, we’re done playing hide and seek with missiles. Meanwhile, a U.S. company’s moon landing dreams might crash and burn before ever leaving Earth. Get your popcorn ready, this one’s part space race, part space faceplant.

Also in the mix: an Air Force officer struts into the Miss America arena—and fights cancer with science while she’s at it. Plus, we kick off our new segment “Midshift Conversations,” where we tackle the College Football Playoff National Championship with the energy of a drunk E-4 during midnight chow. From space force podcast vibes to News for Vets and football debates, it’s your favorite military mess hall with a mic.

Rockets, Reactions & Ridiculous Bids (Jan 3 24)

Blast off with Late For Changeover as we launch straight into January’s stacked lineup of domestic space missions—and yes, SpaceX is back at it with another Falcon 9 flight from Vandenberg. We break down the livestream like it’s game film from basic training: pixelated, loud, and somehow still motivational. If you're into SpaceX news, space podcasts with attitude, or just like hearing veterans yell about rockets, this one's your fuel-up.

Then we switch gears from boosters to bidding in the Military Auction Game—where tactical gear meets tactical chaos. Want to hear grown adults argue over MRE lots and vintage PT belts like it’s eBay for enlisted? Welcome home. It’s a space news podcast meets PX parking lot showdown—and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

A Spacey, Salty, Surprisingly Sentient Look Back at 2023 (Dec 27 23)

Strap in and hold onto your challenge coins—it’s the Late For Changeover 2023 year-in-review episode! We're looking back at the biggest wins, wildest fails, and weirdest military moments from the past year, from SpaceX news that had us cheering (and cringing), to Space Force headlines that made even Guardians say, “Wait, what?” It’s a highlight reel packed with orbital drama, Pentagon policy curveballs, and enough acronyms to break a comms officer.

We’re talking botched launches, surprise promotions, uniform updates that still have us scratching our heads, and the best hot mic moments this side of the DFAC. Whether you're a space force podcast junkie, a veteran podcast purist, or just here for the chaos, this is the best podcast about space and military absurdity you didn’t know you needed. 2023 was a trip—let’s roast it properly.

S3E18 Navy PO2 Steven Leapley

My guest today is former Navy Petty Officer, 2nd Class Steven Leapley.  Steven grew up in the midwest and went to high school in St. Charles, IL.  After graduating, he joined the Navy and went to Great Lakes Naval Training Center in 1991.  He became a Corpsman and attended A School at Great Lakes.  His first assignment was to the Medical Center at Great Lakes.  His next assignments were to Guam, Mare Island in California, and then to San Diego.  He left the military on September 4th, 2001.  Steven currently owns and operates Leapley Enterprises LLC where his specialty is ghostwriting.  
He can be found at the links below:
https://leapleyenterprises.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenleapley/

S3E17 Air Force LtCol Owen Freeland

S3E17 Air Force Lt Col Owen Freeland
My guest today is Air Force Lt Col Owen Freeland.  He attended high school in Biloxi, MS and joined the Air Force in 1997 as a Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory or PMEL Airman.  His first assignment was to Mountain Home AFB, ID in 1998.  In 2000, he cross-trained to communications, got married, went to tech school at Keesler AFB, MS and was then assigned to Peterson AFB, CO.  In 2003, he put a package in for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned as a 33S Communications Officer.  After attending OCS at Maxwell AFB, AL and Basic Comm Officer training back at Keesler, he was assigned to Offutt AFB, NE.  In 2008, he was deployed to Al Udeid and was promoted to Captain after his return.  He was next assigned to USAFCENT at Shaw AFB, SC.  In 2012, he deployed to Afghanistan for a year.  After returning in 2013, he was  assigned to Ft. Meade, MD.  There he was promoted to Major and was selected to attend Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth in 2016.  In 2017, he was selected to command a Cyber Detachment at Ft. Meade.  After command he was assigned to CYBERCOM Staff.  He was promoted to Lt Col in 2019 and was assigned to USSPACECOM at Peterson SFB in 2022.  LtCol Freeland is set to retire in 2024.

Steven Leapley & the Business of Rebooting (Dec 20 23)

This week on Late For Changeover, we welcome former Navy Petty Officer Second Class turned entrepreneur Steven Leapley, who swapped classified comms for business cards as the founder of Leapley Enterprises LLC. We talk career pivots, veteran leadership, and the surprisingly tactical art of not losing your mind while transitioning to civilian life. If you’re into News for Vets with an edge, this one’s a must-hear.

We also break down the freshly passed NDAA (a.k.a. the Congressional Christmas gift to defense contractors), and then throw it way back to 1777—when George Washington kicked off the most miserable winter camping trip in U.S. military history at Valley Forge. From founding father frostbite to modern vet-owned businesses, this episode's got more layers than your field jacket in January.

Laughs, Leaks & Felonies (Dec 13 23)

This week on Late For Changeover, we sit down with Marine Corps veteran and stand-up comic Mel Austin—because who better to roast military bureaucracy than someone who’s lived it and then mic-dropped it on stage? Mel brings the fire from the front lines to the punchline with Laughing 2 Success Entertainment, and trust us, it’s funnier than your last safety brief.

Meanwhile, the Air Force disciplines 15 airmen over the Jack Teixeira leak scandal (OPSEC: still a thing), starts tracking why recruits ghost before they even ship, and we uncover how the VA managed to hire 1,800 health care workers with felony drug convictions. Sprinkle in a nod to Chuck Yeager’s Mach 2.44 flex back in 1953, and you've got a full-spectrum dose of News for Vets, space-adjacent history, and gallows humor. This isn’t your average space podcast—but it should be your favorite.

Lost Flights, Spy Sats & Base Buzzkills (Dec 6 23)

On this week’s Late For Changeover, we crack open a cold one (just not on base) and unpack one of the strangest military disappearances ever—Flight 19 and its infamous vanishing act over the Bermuda Triangle in 1945. Then it’s off to the Pacific Rim, where South Korea launches its first spy satellite after North Korea blinked first. Congrats to both for reaching space—we’re just over here wondering if anyone’s using space podcasts to announce launches now.

We also tackle the Pentagon’s “extremism stand-down” that did exactly what you think it did (spoiler: nothing), the day drinking debacle at a major U.S. base, and we pour one out in honor of the awesome veteran guests who dropped wisdom, war stories, and wisecracks on the show in 2023. From military cover-ups to space-race catch-ups, this episode is News for Vets with a buzz.

PT Uniforms, Pentagon Faceplants & 2023’s Funniest Fumbles (Nov 29 23)

This week on Late For Changeover, we salute the USS Enterprise (no, not the warp-speed one) for airlifting aircraft to Wake Island like it’s 1944 all over again. Meanwhile, Space Force is officially hunting “abnormal” objects in space—so if your UFO has a cracked windshield or questionable registration, now’s the time to ghost. We also spotlight the 2023 USO Troops of the Year—real-life heroes who slapped on tourniquets and saved lives like it was just another Tuesday.

But wait, there’s more: the Pentagon bombs its sixth consecutive audit (shocker), the Marine Corps gives up after three years of trying to redesign a PT uniform, and we wrap with the best 2023 outtakes—proving once again that military humor is a little dark, very loud, and almost never safe for work. If you’re into space podcasts, Space Force news, or News for Vets who love a good laugh with their facepalm, this one’s your holiday buffet of absurdity.

Starship, Stolen Humvees & the Rotten Tomatoes Raid (Nov 23 24)

This week on Late For Changeover, we go from boom to buffoonery faster than a Humvee on the run. First up: we remember Operation Ivory Coast—the 1970 special ops raid that was part high-risk heroism, part "did-we-just-land-at-the-wrong-prison?" chaos. Then we jump to SpaceX news as Starship’s second uncrewed launch ends with another fireball finale. It’s like NASA meets NASCAR, and everyone’s watching for the wreck.

We also ask the tough questions—like how do you actually make Air Force bases safer and Security Forces less cranky? Plus, the Army awkwardly slides into the DMs of soldiers booted over vaccine refusals (hey...u up?). And don’t miss our breakdown of the great National Guard Humvee heist, which ends exactly how you'd expect—in a high-speed chase and poor decisions. We wrap with the Rotten Tomatoes Game, because what better way to end a military podcast than by judging terrible movies like it’s a deployment rec room? Buckle up—it’s News for Vets with afterburners.