![Who is MandatoryFunDay?](/getmedia/66611ecf-d271-4be4-ab5e-1a23c1bd2570/58372.jpeg)
Army 1st Lt. Austin von Letkemann, better known by his Instagram handle, shares his rise to fame as a comic influencer on this week’s Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
Army 1st Lt. Austin von Letkemann never sought out to be an Instagram influencer with 20 million monthly viewers. Letkemann, perhaps better known as MandatoryFunDay on Instagram, shares his story as the special guest in this week’s episode of the American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
“I joined the Army because at the time the things I was trying were falling apart, and I’d always been curious about the military,” he explained.
Now, he is in the process of transitioning from being an intelligence officer to a role in public affairs where he will create content for the Army. “We’re trying to figure it out. We’re kind of flying the plane as we build it.”
Known for his uplifting and humorous content, Letkemann focuses his social media posts on leadership, military life and being a dad. Since starting his content creation journey in 2022, his goal has been to inject positivity and laughter into the lives of the military community.
His secret recipe: making a short video, sharing it and repeating that scenario thousands of times.
Letkemann’s rising star has placed him on a television comedy series — “Office Joe,” the brainchild of American Legion member Nick Palmisciano — and earned him requests to speak at various events, including the recent American Legion-led Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball.
“I yell at my phone and post it on the Internet and now people want me to speak in front of crowds,” he says, referring to his Instagram channel with over 1.1 million followers. “When I started this, I had no idea it was going to blow up like this. As far as content creators go, I’m fairly large. I didn’t expect that because personally I don’t find myself that interesting.”
Letkemann has four daughters who keep his life full of activity and sparkles. He also enjoys weightlifting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He also is a member of The American Legion.
“I immediately fell in love with the mission and what The American Legion does,” he said, adding that it was a no-brainer to support it. “It’s an incredible organization. It’s got a lot of history. And it’s mission is the best.”
Also, co-hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley:
• Discuss two long overdue Medal of Honor awards.
• Reveal “military romance scams” in honor of Valentine’s Day, later this week.
• Chat about VA’s National Salute to Veteran Patients Week.
You can also check out the nearly 300 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima