What happens when the career that helped define you ends—and life hands you an entirely different mission?
U.S. Air Force EOD veteran Erin Willoby, founder of Buffalo Gals Company, joins The Toosday Crüe for a deeply personal conversation about military service, identity, marriage, caregiving, resilience and finding purpose after leaving the military.
Erin entered the Air Force in 2002 and took on one of the military’s toughest career fields: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). At a time when female EOD technicians were still extraordinarily rare, Erin remembers being told that women typically didn’t make it through the training.
She took that as a challenge.
Erin graduated from EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base and earned her place in the EOD community. But her military career took an unexpected turn when asthma and medical concerns forced her to confront a devastating decision: continue pursuing the career she loved or step away rather than risk putting herself or another technician in danger.
Leaving active duty also created a struggle many veterans understand—the loss of identity that can come when military service ends before you expected it to.
But Erin's story was far from over.
Years later, her husband and fellow EOD technician, Stephen, suffered a catastrophic diving accident that left him with a C6 incomplete spinal cord injury and quadriplegia.
At the time, Erin and Stephen had already divorced.
Then one phone call changed everything.
As Stephen fought for his life, the problems that had once seemed large suddenly became insignificant. Erin returned to his side, the two reconnected, and eventually remarried from his hospital bed before beginning the long road of rehabilitation and rebuilding their lives together.
Erin opens up about becoming a military caregiver, learning how to build a marriage again under unimaginable circumstances, and the hard-earned lessons they discovered about communication, forgiveness, grace and fighting for one another.
She also shares one piece of advice for caregivers and military families facing a life-changing injury:
The situation you are facing today may feel impossible—but with each day, you learn, adapt and become better equipped to face what comes next.
The conversation also explores Erin's continued connection to the EOD community and her struggle with feeling worthy of calling herself an EOD technician because her active-duty career was cut short.
The Crüe has a very different message for her:
You volunteered. You completed the training. You earned the badge. You were EOD. Period.
That identity eventually became part of Erin's next mission.
A lifelong artist, Erin began using creativity as a form of therapy. What started as artwork eventually grew into Buffalo Gals Company, where she creates original art, apparel, gifts and designs inspired by the EOD, military, veteran, first responder and public-service communities.
Her work also provides another way to give back to the EOD family that has meant so much to her.
In this episode, Erin and The Toosday Crüe discuss:
Becoming a female Air Force EOD technician
What EOD school was really like
Women in Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Leaving the military because of a medical condition
Losing your identity after military service
The bond of the EOD community
Life as both an EOD veteran and military spouse
Stephen's catastrophic spinal cord injury
Becoming a military caregiver
Divorce, reconciliation and remarrying from a hospital bed
Marriage after catastrophic injury
Caregiver burnout, communication and resilience
Veteran mental health and identity after service
Finding purpose after leaving the military
Using art as therapy
Veteran entrepreneurship
Founding Buffalo Gals Company
Creating EOD artwork with deeper meaning
Giving back to the EOD Warrior Foundation and EOD community
Erin’s story is ultimately about something many veterans, caregivers and military families understand:
The mission can change without your purpose disappearing.
Sometimes rebuilding becomes the mission.
Sometimes caregiving becomes the mission.
Sometimes creating something meaningful from everything you've survived becomes the mission.
And sometimes the community you thought you left behind reminds you that you were part of it all along.
Learn more about Erin Willoby and Buffalo Gals Company:
Follow The Toosday Crüe / Misfit Nation for more conversations with veterans, military families, first responders, entrepreneurs and everyday people with extraordinary stories of service, adversity, resilience and purpose.
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