The Operation Coffee Podcast
Every conversation starts with a cup of coffee
The Operation Coffee Podcast is hosted by Sam Floyd, a Marine Corps veteran and the founder of Operation Coffee, a veteran-owned coffee roaster in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Every episode is a conversation over coffee — with veterans, caregivers, first responders, and people who have had to find a new mission after service.
The show is recorded at the Operation Coffee roastery and covers the things that don't get said enough: the transition out of uniform, PTSD, faith, recovery, caregiving, and what it actually takes to let people back in. New episodes are released as conversations happen.
Where to listen
- Listen on Spotify
- Watch on YouTube — every episode is filmed at the roastery
Episodes
Season 1, Episode 5 — It's Okay to Just Be Forgiven: Mike Helwig
Released September 2026 · 94 minutes
Mike Helwig was a pastor for twenty years, in Grand Island, Nebraska and then at Crown of Life in Hubertus, before he went back to school and became a counselor. He was Sam's counselor, too.
This year Mike launched Camp Courage and wrote Camp Courage: A Field Manual, built on four "cabins": your faith, your mental and emotional health, your body, and the people in your life. Sam and Mike walk through all four, and get into the 2 a.m. phone call that pastors, first responders and small business owners all feel they have to answer. Some things can wait till Tuesday.
If you feel like you have to be everything for everybody, this one is for you. Camp Courage: A Field Manual
Season 1, Episode 4 — So Much More Than a Flight: Diane MacDonald
Released September 2, 2026 · 64 minutes
Everybody around here has seen the homecoming at the Appleton airport. Almost nobody sees the year it takes to get there.
Diane MacDonald is the Executive Director of Missions of Honor and Old Glory Honor Flight. She and her husband started Old Glory in 2009 after watching a story about an honor flight on TV on a Sunday afternoon. By Monday he had the paperwork. They flew their first group of World War II veterans that October, which meant raising seventy thousand dollars in about three months. There is no government funding for any of it.
Seventeen years later it is Pearl Harbor survivors going back to Pearl Harbor, Vietnam veterans going back to Vietnam, sixty-eight World War II veterans to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and a mental health retreat in New York City for Global War on Terrorism veterans — because Ground Zero is our memorial.
If you have been told you should apply and you keep not applying, this one is for you. Missions of Honor · Become a Guardian
Season 1, Episode 3 — The Face I'll Never Forget: Why I Started Operation Coffee
Released August 19, 2026 · 14 minutes · Solo episode
The first solo episode. In 2017 Sam's company went under. He was living in Madison, fixing grinder sewage pumps, and had bought a house a couple of months before. It was right around Memorial Day, which is already a hard week for him.
A case manager asked what he liked to do. He said, sarcastically, that he liked coffee — because at that point he didn't like doing anything. She told him to do something with that. He bought a popcorn popper from Goodwill and started there.
Not long after, at a week-long course in the hills of Pennsylvania, a man there got word that his friend had ended his own life. Sam has never forgotten his face. That is the moment that molded what Operation Coffee is.
Content note: this episode discusses suicide. If you are struggling, call or text 988. Veterans and service members, press 1.
Episode page · Watch this episode · Listen on Spotify
Season 1, Episode 2 — Who Do You Call After the Call?: Tyler Van Handel
Released August 5, 2026 · 59 minutes
Ask a police officer who they talk to after a bad call, and most of them will tell you nobody.
Tyler Van Handel is a police officer in the Fox Valley. He and Sam talk about what first responders carry home, and about building a fire team — in the military, the four guys you run every maneuver with; in the civilian world, the four or five people you call when the crisis comes. Because it is coming, and building that group takes years.
If you're a first responder and nobody has ever asked who you talk to after a call, this one is for you.
Episode page · Watch this episode · Listen on Spotify
Season 1, Episode 1 — Leaving the Corps, Finding the New Mission: David Tellefson
Released July 22, 2026 · 34 minutes
David Tellefson spent his career in the Marine Corps and retired as a First Sergeant. He is now the Veteran Service Officer for Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. This conversation is about the road between those two things.
Sam and David talk about the part nobody warns you about — what happens when you take off the uniform. Losing the mission. The struggle of transitioning out, and finding new purpose in helping other veterans.
They also get honest about something a lot of veterans carry: in the Corps, you learn not to get too attached, because getting attached means getting hurt. So you leave, and you keep people at arm's length. David and Sam talk about how hard it is to let people back in, and why it matters that you do.
If you're a veteran: reach out to your County Veteran Service Officer. That is what they are there for. You don't have to figure this out alone.
Watch this episode · Listen on Spotify
Episode 0 — Every Conversation Starts with Coffee
Released June 16, 2026 · 3 minutes
The short introduction to the show. Sam explains why he started Operation Coffee, why he started the podcast, and what listeners can expect from the conversations ahead.
About the host
Sam Floyd served in the United States Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006 and deployed to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2004. He founded Operation Coffee in 2017 after eleven years of struggling with his mental health and the transition to civilian life. A portion of every sale is donated to Semper Fi & America's Fund and other veteran-focused causes. Sam and Operation Coffee have been featured on NBC's TODAY Show, VA News, and Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin.
Read Sam's story · Press and recognition
Common questions
Who hosts The Operation Coffee Podcast?
Sam Floyd, a Marine Corps veteran and the founder of Operation Coffee, a veteran-owned roaster in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
What is the podcast about?
Conversations over coffee with veterans, caregivers, first responders, and others about transition out of the military, mental health, PTSD, faith, recovery, and finding a new mission.
Where can I listen to The Operation Coffee Podcast?
On Spotify and YouTube. Episodes are filmed as well as recorded.
Is it related to the coffee company?
Yes. The podcast is produced by Operation Coffee and recorded at the roastery in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
Drink the coffee behind the conversations
Operation Coffee is small-batch roasted to order in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Shop our coffee or subscribe and save 15%.