1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,680 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,920 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,560 I am Jim Fossone. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,880 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,760 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,760 I think you'll find very interesting. 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:34,760 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:41,760 or by going to veteransradio.net where we're on the web 24-7. 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,880 You can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 11 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:51,520 We post new ones every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a new interview, something 12 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,640 you didn't know before by going to veteransradio.net. 13 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:00,120 And before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors. 14 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:09,400 First up, we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 15 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:15,080 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran owned businesses. 16 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:21,600 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 17 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,520 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans, Legal Help for Veterans Fights for Veterans 18 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,640 Disability Rights all across the nation. 19 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:41,360 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at legalhelpforveterans.com. 20 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:47,120 We also want to thank our latest national sponsor, Veteran Lending Council. 21 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:54,400 It is a community dedicated to educating lenders, realtors, and veterans on the VA Home Loan 22 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,560 Benefit Program. 23 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:04,560 You can check them out on Facebook and other social media outlets. 24 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:09,720 We want to welcome to veterans radio today John Fountz, Lieutenant Colonel Retard from 25 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:11,400 the United States Army. 26 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,920 Spent 20 years serving this country and recently retired. 27 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,200 We're going to talk about some things in the news. 28 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,520 John, welcome to veterans radio. 29 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,680 John, thank you so much. 30 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,080 I'm thrilled to be here. 31 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,600 Well, we've got some mutual friends and they said great things about you. 32 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,640 I'm looking forward to learning about your career and your background. 33 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:39,200 But I understand you went to high school here locally at Catholic Central and then moved 34 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:40,920 on to West Point. 35 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:45,360 What made you go to West Point? 36 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,920 I think the most immediate answer was my brother also had been there. 37 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:51,680 He was a 1989 graduate. 38 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,280 So it was always in the back of my mind that I would consider perhaps going there. 39 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:03,800 But also just my family has been a very veteran service oriented family. 40 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:05,120 My dad had four brothers. 41 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,040 They all served in the military. 42 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:08,120 My mom had three brothers. 43 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:09,360 They all served in the military. 44 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:14,200 I had one uncle who served in World War II, one in the Korean War, and one in Vietnam. 45 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:19,080 And so it was just something that my parents were exposed to and they thought was a very 46 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,400 high and noble calling. 47 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,280 And I saw how my family reacted to my brother's service. 48 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,680 He served during the Desert Storm and we decorated the house. 49 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,240 We watched the news and we paid close attention to it. 50 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,720 And there was a great party when it came home. 51 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,480 And he always spoke highly of it, the Army as well as West Point. 52 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,640 And like everybody else, it's really hard, it's really challenging. 53 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:50,800 And I think I've always just been kind of drawn to anyone who likes to throw out a challenge 54 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:52,040 or a level of difficulty. 55 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,120 I just like to take it on. 56 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,080 Well, you never thought about going to the Naval Academy? 57 00:03:58,080 --> 00:03:59,080 What Academy? 58 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,080 I never thought about it. 59 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:11,200 Well, it's a long family service to the Army that the Founts family has and that's wonderful. 60 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:12,320 It's really amazing. 61 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:18,040 And probably when you went in, you didn't expect to spend 20 years, I don't think. 62 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:19,040 I did not. 63 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,320 I did not expect to spend that long. 64 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:27,120 I remember even thinking hard about, ooh, five years was the, as is still the requirement 65 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:28,120 once you graduate. 66 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,120 I thought that's kind of long. 67 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,440 I guess I didn't think 20 was long. 68 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,680 Well, and I don't believe, was your brother a career service member? 69 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:39,680 No. 70 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,280 No, he got out at his five year mark and then moved on. 71 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:46,440 Well, again, it's one of those things. 72 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,400 You get these great jobs, you get these great people you work with on important issues and 73 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,400 one year rolls into the next and you look up and say, hey, I've really enjoyed the 20. 74 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,840 But let's go back. 75 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:03,100 Tell us a little bit more about your career and the infantry and ultimately into special 76 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:06,080 forces and onto some other places after that. 77 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,360 So give us the thumbnail sketch of this. 78 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,080 Finally, well, I graduated and was commissioned the second of June 2021. 79 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,640 So 21 years ago today. 80 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:17,640 There you go. 81 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:18,640 Yeah. 82 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:19,640 Nice coincidence. 83 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:25,600 And of course, the world changed greatly a few months later in September. 84 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:30,920 And so I was in the infantry officer captain's career basic course when that happened down 85 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:32,960 at Fort Benning, Georgia. 86 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,280 And things got very interesting very quickly. 87 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:42,040 I finished that up and graduated and went on to Ranger school and then immediately reported 88 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:48,440 to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the summer of 2002. 89 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:55,080 And we immediately saw shortly after a tension building in the Middle East. 90 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:05,240 And as war loomed in January, we got orders to go to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 91 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:14,560 And so I spent eight months as a rifle platoon leader during my time there in Iraq, spending 92 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,400 most of my time there in Baghdad. 93 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,640 Really as a 23 year old kid trying to learn every day what I needed to be doing. 94 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:27,240 It was a very daunting task for a young infantryman at the time. 95 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,160 But my platoon of 40 guys, we were all kind of doing it together. 96 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,760 Well, and that's what I want you to talk a little bit about that because you're freshly 97 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,040 minted out of the West Point. 98 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:46,040 You're all of a sudden in charge of 40 men and not just taking, you know, making widgets 99 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:47,240 on the line. 100 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:48,480 This is life and death stuff. 101 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,160 So one of the things the military really gives you is this early exposure to leadership, 102 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,160 doesn't it? 103 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,600 Yes. 104 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,320 It starts very early on. 105 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:06,040 You're responsible for everything you do as a young cadet. 106 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,240 And when you get further on at West Point, and I would later go back as a tech officer 107 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:16,600 doing the same things to other cadets, they try to put the onus of decisions on you and 108 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,520 let you make it as a leadership laboratory should be. 109 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,760 And so you get used to making those decisions and you get used to making some bad decisions 110 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:28,440 and you get used to learning how to rebound or become a little bit more resilient toward 111 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:29,440 those decisions. 112 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:30,440 You're going to make bad ones. 113 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,560 That's what things like Ranger School and the Basic Course are for. 114 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,840 They're going to put you in situations where you're going to have to lose something no 115 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,640 matter what decision you make. 116 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:46,560 There is no perfect answer in these scenarios because in those kind of situations, you got 117 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,840 to sometimes have to figure out amongst all the chaos, you know, how to get out of the 118 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:55,920 situation or how to get out of this environment as best you can. 119 00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:00,080 And I think everyone knew that and everyone knew that there was a lot on my shoulders 120 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:01,960 as well as theirs. 121 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,680 And I think it fostered a lot of open communication. 122 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:09,080 We were light infantry, but you really couldn't do that and bag that in order to cover down 123 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:10,080 on our sector. 124 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,520 So all of a sudden now we have vehicles. 125 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:13,920 And we hadn't really even trained for that. 126 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:17,080 I mean, vehicles were just things that took us to the forest so they could drop us off 127 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,920 before it started raining. 128 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:27,040 And here we are trying to figure out new SOPs, new ways and TTPs to operate as a light infantry 129 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:31,360 unit with vehicles inside an urban environment. 130 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,280 And so I think just the openness that everyone had about we've got to put our heads together 131 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,680 to figure out the best way to do this. 132 00:08:37,680 --> 00:08:42,320 I really built some trust amongst us and my squad leaders. 133 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,480 And it was a daily occurrence. 134 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,320 We sat down every day and just looked at ourselves and say, hey, how are we doing? 135 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:48,320 We're doing good. 136 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:49,320 All right. 137 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,440 I think we should be doing something different and it led to some good conversations. 138 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,880 Well, you had multiple overseas assignments. 139 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:02,720 So you were in Iraq and I think it was 2003 and 2004 overlapping. 140 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,240 Tell us the other two that you had. 141 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:11,280 Yeah, there was a second deployment to Iraq during their first elections, which was a 142 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:16,320 very interesting time to be there to see them go out and vote for the first time to set 143 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,360 their destiny. 144 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:24,800 I also then would transition over to the Special Forces in 2005 and went to the Third Special 145 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,280 Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina as well. 146 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,920 And we did a trip to Tajikistan training their border guards. 147 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,520 They share a border with Afghanistan and the opium was being transmitted between those 148 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,360 borders pretty porously. 149 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:47,320 So we were training up those individuals, we had 534 Tajiks with us and just teaching 150 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,760 them some border patrol maneuvers. 151 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:58,040 And then 2009, my special forces 12-man detachment went to RCE and partnered with the Afghan 152 00:09:58,040 --> 00:09:59,040 commandos. 153 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,840 There was only six Afghan commando units in the entire country and we were fortunate 154 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:08,320 to get one of those and they were tapped for the better training, better pay and the more 155 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:09,720 hazardous duties and missions. 156 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:17,240 So we did operations all throughout RCE, which is the entire eastern side of Afghanistan. 157 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:24,520 For those who might not understand what special forces means in the Army, can you give them 158 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,280 an explanation here for veterans radio? 159 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:28,280 Sure. 160 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:33,880 So the United States Special Forces is the only unit authorized by Congress to conduct 161 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,240 unconventional warfare. 162 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,520 And we focused there a little bit on building up other nations and what we were doing in 163 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,360 Iraq and Afghanistan is what we call FID, which is Foreign Internal Defense. 164 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:53,840 A special forces team is a 12-man self-sustaining team with highly skilled people in weapons, 165 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:58,640 engineering, medical and communication specialists, as well as intel specialists and some planning 166 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,240 specialists like myself. 167 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,560 And doctrinally, we're supposed to be able to train up to a battalion-sized level, which 168 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:10,520 is why we had so many Tajiks and why we had an entire battalion of Afghans. 169 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:15,080 And our job really is to work ourselves out of a job, as we say. 170 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:20,040 We try to train them up to do their own planning, train them up to do their own rehearsals, 171 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:25,440 equipment maintenance, logistics, and hopefully as we continue to build them up, we can take 172 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:26,720 a lesser rollback. 173 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:27,720 That's our goal. 174 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:29,440 We try not to be the face of the operation. 175 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,640 We really try to push them forward and keep them in front. 176 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,600 And take some specialized training to have that kind of patience, because sometimes you 177 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,280 want to do things yourself, because it might be the easiest way to do it. 178 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:44,600 But a special forces team is going to build up over time those skills inside that unit 179 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,800 so they can walk away one day and no longer be needed, hopefully. 180 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:53,920 Well, and this fits into a little bit of what your areas of study were. 181 00:11:53,920 --> 00:12:00,160 At West Point, you obtained a degree in psychology, and you also graduated from Columbia University 182 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,280 with a master's in organizational psychology in 2011. 183 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:10,120 So this whole thinking about and how to motivate people and organizationally and the psychology 184 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:16,040 of all of that would sort of fit right into your role in these assignments, I would think. 185 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:17,040 Yes. 186 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:22,480 In fact, it was President Eisenhower who was instrumental in bringing psychology and a 187 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:27,840 few other disciplines to United States Military Academy when they were not existing. 188 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,960 And I think he, of course, understood greatly the impact that leaders can have just by their 189 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,280 presence and just by understanding who you're leading. 190 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:42,280 The emotional intelligence perhaps was not necessarily always a well-defined term early 191 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,720 on in those days, but he did a lot to push that. 192 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,960 And now all the TAC officers that go to help train these 4,000 cadets, the United States 193 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,360 Military Academy, get that degree in organizational psychology through Columbia. 194 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,760 They have a wonderful partnership and huge support. 195 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,400 But that's because the entire goal was to help these individuals, again, make their 196 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,920 decisions on their own and take ownership of those decisions. 197 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:13,440 But each decision affects people so much differently that you've got to kind of have that flexibility 198 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:18,400 and patience to understand that you're dealing with a different person and trying to meet 199 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:23,040 them at their level of how they understand it and to push them and find where they don't 200 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:28,320 understand themselves, but to give them the support to go ahead and make those decisions 201 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:29,320 and learn from them. 202 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:36,600 Well, I think many of us, I have an engineering undergrad, see things too black and white, 203 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:38,720 two plus two equals four. 204 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:45,400 But it's when dealing with human beings, it's often not quite so regimented in black and 205 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:46,400 white. 206 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:51,200 So I can really see how this fits into being able to work with so many different types 207 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,960 of people all around the country. 208 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:58,760 And you had an interesting, we could talk all day on that subject alone, but I want 209 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,880 to move along to something that you had an interesting opportunity to work on. 210 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:10,240 I'd like to change the subject pretty much completely here, John, if you don't mind. 211 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:15,760 And turn our attention to what you're currently doing, but there's a lot of back history to 212 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,080 how you ended up here. 213 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:24,160 And in that regards, John is now in his civilian life. 214 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:30,600 He has joined team Red, White and Blue on their staff as a special events manager. 215 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:37,760 And remember now, John graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 2001. 216 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:44,840 He picked up his graduate degree, his master's in organizational psychology in 2011. 217 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:50,120 He also happens to be a marathoner and he's running a marathon in every state. 218 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,240 But he also has connections with the founder of team Red, White and Blue. 219 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,120 So tell us a little bit about team Red, White and Blue. 220 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,120 Let's start there. 221 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,000 Absolutely. 222 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,080 Team Red, White and Blue is a national nonprofit forging itself to become America's leading 223 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,000 health and wellness community for veterans. 224 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:16,240 It was started in 2010 by Mike Irwin, who had been the intel officer while I was serving 225 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,080 in third special forces group for my battalion. 226 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,880 And then he left to go to grad school in 2009 at the University of Michigan and team Red, 227 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:28,640 White and Blue has actually filed paperwork right there in Ann Arbor. 228 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:34,000 And Mike had experienced the transition of coming, he came straight from Afghanistan 229 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,000 to the classroom. 230 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,960 There's a cultural shock. 231 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,240 Yes. 232 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,000 And one of the things I remember him telling me is like two weeks before the class he was 233 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:51,640 in, he was doing intelligence reports for people going into hazardous areas and then 234 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:57,400 sitting there in the classroom and for people to not, in his mind, to care as much about 235 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:02,440 Afghanistan as he was caring about two weeks ago was making him frustrated and almost making 236 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:04,600 him pull away from these people. 237 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,920 And he realized that's the wrong way. 238 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:08,560 I had to go toward these people. 239 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,080 They're not doing anything wrong. 240 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,120 They're just, they don't have the same kind of experience and same kind of knowledge and 241 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,800 same kind of day to day interaction that Mike got to have or that I got to have. 242 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,880 I experienced the same thing in 2010 when I left and went to Columbia. 243 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,720 You know, I'm sitting there in one of the early days when someone says, oh, you're one 244 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,080 of the individuals from West Point. 245 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,360 And they want to talk to you about Afghanistan. 246 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,320 And you want to come out of merely purely from a military standpoint. 247 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,720 And she's coming at it really purely from a diplomatic standpoint. 248 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:42,160 And I'm realizing that I've had one lens of many on how to view this war. 249 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,000 And she's got one lens. 250 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,640 And how do we get that together? 251 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:46,640 How do we share it? 252 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:52,040 Well, in a good spot, in a good environment where we can build trust and build relationship 253 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,040 and also, you know, work on community. 254 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,960 And so initially, Team Red, White and Blue's mission was enriching veterans lives by connecting 255 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,520 them to their communities through physical and social activity. 256 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,840 Just to help people stay connected when they got out of the military. 257 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:08,680 When you're in the military, you got PT every day. 258 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:09,680 You got to wake up. 259 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:10,680 You got to go. 260 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:11,680 You got to work out. 261 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:12,680 You got to be there. 262 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:13,680 That's your job. 263 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,400 When it becomes an option for you and you're trying to transition to a new job and you're 264 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:21,240 trying to work hard, you got a new house, you know, those kind of things can drop off. 265 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:27,120 And we were seeing that a lot of people were sacrificing physical fitness, physical and 266 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:34,160 mental well-being on the altar of transition, got to get this move made. 267 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,520 And so early on, there was a start to developing chapters. 268 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:44,080 I mean, right now, we're at over 200,000 members, almost 200 different chapters through the country, 269 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,360 where it's just a place for people to come, whether a quarter of our members are civilians. 270 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:49,840 And it provided a wonderful outlet. 271 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:55,640 And as a huge part of our mission is to connect those people that might not have grown up 272 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:56,640 in the military. 273 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,480 And maybe they didn't have brothers and sisters or uncles that served, but they have questions 274 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:01,800 and they don't always know where to turn. 275 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:06,400 And sometimes that can be a difficult conversation, especially around days like Memorial Day, 276 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:07,760 like how do you approach that? 277 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,080 Well, the best way to approach that is to do something together, get out and go for 278 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:12,080 a run. 279 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:18,720 There's something very connecting about a 5K goal, a marathon goal, taking those steps, 280 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,840 forward progress, and it just leads to conversation. 281 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,600 And it just leads to, you know, Mike would say, exercise is the most under-prescribed 282 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:27,600 medication. 283 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,480 These are the kind of things that we can do to let some things out, let off some emotional 284 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:37,640 steam, and also the same time, doing it with someone who's going to hold us accountable. 285 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,680 So that's kind of the early days. 286 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:47,680 And what's sort of surprising to me when I went to the website, which is teamrwb.org, 287 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:55,280 is the fact that 25% of team red, white, and blue members are civilians. 288 00:18:55,280 --> 00:19:02,040 And it is that, that really shows this while it's veteran-centric in a way for veterans 289 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:09,160 of a maybe younger, more modern era to get together and do things like runs, but you're 290 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,720 also drawing in that bigger community. 291 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,920 Can you tell us some, give us some more statistics. 292 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,880 What percentage are men and women, you know, what campaigns do they come from? 293 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,640 Where are they spread out around the country? 294 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:31,280 Yeah, so for our members, about 60% are a veteran, about 23% a quarter are civilian. 295 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,120 We still have about 11% active duty and 7% garden reserve. 296 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:38,400 It's about 60% male, 40% female. 297 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:42,040 So you know, higher female percentage is what you'd see in the military. 298 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,000 So it really does kind of draw to both. 299 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:51,280 51% are army, 19% Air Force, 16% Navy, 13% Marine Corps, and then another percent for 300 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,960 Coast Guard and Space Force as well. 301 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,600 So we got all representations from all our services. 302 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:08,280 And yeah, we have about a thousand of those members are what we call Eagle leaders. 303 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,440 They've, you know, taken the next step to say, I don't just want to be a partisan organization. 304 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,520 I have some more time or I have some more desire. 305 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,400 I want to step up and be a leader. 306 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,160 And that could be something as simple as, hey, I'm going to lead a run on Saturdays, 307 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:25,800 or I'm going to be the guy who organizes, is going to trivia at a restaurant on Thursday 308 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:30,280 nights and get everything together, get the table reserved, put the note, put the word 309 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:36,520 out and get these people to come and join them and kind of just facilitate the interaction. 310 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:41,400 And those are really, those are our, that's our skeletal structure right there. 311 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,480 Those are the people that really hold us together. 312 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:48,480 And then we use our ethos to kind of be the, you know, the nervous system that really brings 313 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:49,480 it all together. 314 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:58,400 And that's passion, people, commitment, camaraderie, and those kind of things are what are central 315 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,320 to what we're trying to achieve. 316 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:07,040 And this is really a different model than the old veteran service organization where 317 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:13,640 you'd go to the VFW hall and have drinks or play cards or smoke. 318 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,560 This is really a different model, isn't it? 319 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:20,160 Yes, I think intentionally. 320 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,960 There was a great need, I think at that time, when some of these other organizations were 321 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,520 starting up decades ago. 322 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,160 And this sometimes in some cases was important to have veterans only. 323 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,240 That's, you know, who they were able to, who they needed to speak to. 324 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:41,080 But as we saw going forward, the landscape changing with veterans coming in and spending 325 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:45,280 numerous deployments in a short period of time for years and years when there was no 326 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:46,520 end in sight. 327 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:52,120 And then going out into the community and integrating into two thirds of veterans will 328 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:53,920 go to a zip code they didn't come from. 329 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:58,520 Usually for a new job, maybe to go back to where their spouse came from. 330 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,600 But you know, in the army, in the military, you have this welcome, like everyone's kind 331 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,800 of rotating, so you're used to it. 332 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,560 And as someone who just transitioned, now I even transitioned back to my, I transitioned 333 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,760 back to the same house I grew up in that I got my parents. 334 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,280 So it made it easy for me. 335 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:20,840 But what I didn't realize was the effects on my wife and children. 336 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:21,840 You know, for me, it makes sense. 337 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,200 They're going to go to the school that dad went to when he was growing up. 338 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,720 But to them, you know, they don't have their friends anymore. 339 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:33,240 And the kids at that school aren't like them at a military school, a third of the class 340 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,760 is new because a third of the class parents left last year. 341 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:41,400 And they're used to that kind of transition and change up. 342 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,920 My wife now had to come back here and, you know, she used to have a whole group of wives 343 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,400 that was almost like Insta friends. 344 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,960 You just kind of got together and said, I'm new, you're new. 345 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,040 Hey, let's do this together. 346 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:57,240 Whereas some of these, you know, friends and spouse groups are kind of ingrained and set, 347 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,520 not that they're barriers to get into, but we're just not used to having to ask those 348 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,680 kind of questions or do that kind of seeking. 349 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:09,320 Well, it's an issue we've talked about on Veterans Radio before and we're talking to 350 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,520 John Fons, who's the special events coordinator for team Red, White and Blue. 351 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:19,520 And what you're hitting on, John, is something that in the military, you had a network that 352 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:21,600 was a military network. 353 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:27,120 Now that you're out in the civilian world or maybe in a new business after you get out, 354 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:33,360 you have to build a whole new network of people in that neighborhood, in that community, or 355 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:38,600 maybe in that business industry that you're going into that you didn't have before because 356 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,960 you spent 20 years in the military. 357 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:46,680 And that's where team Red, White and Blue, I'm sure helps keep a network together where 358 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:52,640 you find people who have that experience in the military, but maybe also can become part 359 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,760 of the network in the new community or in the new business. 360 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:57,640 Do you see that happening? 361 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:00,640 Absolutely, all the time. 362 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,560 And a lot of times when I was a chapter captain for team Red, White and Blue Sandhills, when 363 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:11,440 I left West Point, I had been in the team Red, White and Blue West Point chapter and 364 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:16,640 I got to the Sandhills and yeah, I wanted to keep going with RDB and meet new people. 365 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,400 And I just started going to events, wearing my shirt or running around carrying a flag 366 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:25,240 and you find people saying like, oh, well, I wish I could join, but I wasn't in the military. 367 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:26,240 I'm like, well, what do you do? 368 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:30,440 I'm like, well, I'm a teacher or I'm a nurse or I'm going to count them like, hey, we all 369 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:32,360 need those people in our lives. 370 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:33,960 We got those questions that we got asked. 371 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:35,360 We're new to this area. 372 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:37,080 You've been here for a while. 373 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,240 You have knowledge on the community. 374 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:44,480 I might have knowledge on the veteran and together we're going to better understand one another 375 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,440 and form that community that then becomes a place where you can come to when you are 376 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,440 in need. 377 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,280 And that's I think the ultimate goal in the end. 378 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:56,880 When we talk about health and wellness for veterans, we're talking about having a community 379 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:01,000 where they are able to get the mental or physical help they need, the accountability with a 380 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:05,600 positive aspect of getting people out to go to those runs or when a day doesn't go so 381 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,680 well to say that's okay. 382 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:09,720 You know, we're going to get it back up next time. 383 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,920 I'll be there with you. 384 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,120 And so we are learning that everyone has a role to play and it doesn't really matter 385 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:17,720 what your profession is. 386 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:24,440 Really it's just a matter of wanting to serve those that served and build a community that 387 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:25,800 you want to be a part of. 388 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:32,120 Well, this is an important discussion because it is PTSD Awareness Month being recognized 389 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:39,600 nationally and that health and wellness goal of RWB fits right into that. 390 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:45,160 But I want to draw a distinction again for this organization that I think is important 391 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,440 because I think it's a more modern approach. 392 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:53,840 This isn't about monthly meetings or bi-weekly meetings or anything like that, is it? 393 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:54,840 No. 394 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,400 No, this is a revolving door. 395 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,160 You can go in and out and it's not just your community that you're a part of. 396 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,720 We have an app that you can download on the App Store, TMRWB. 397 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,760 Sign up, you can get into your chapter and you can look for local events and they're 398 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,360 all listed there. 399 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:12,360 All different kinds. 400 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:13,360 You can filter it. 401 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,240 Maybe I'm not a runner, I'm a hiker, I'm a cyclist. 402 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,400 You can find those events. 403 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:23,240 And then when I travel, I've used that opportunity to change my location and find out what's 404 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:24,240 going on. 405 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:32,920 I've done a marathon with the Richmond chapter, Hartford, Connecticut chapter, and I think 406 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,040 a few other chapters if I can think back to even some more. 407 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:39,560 I just kind of put my name out there and like, hey, I'm an eagle. 408 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,060 I'm a TMRWB blue eagle. 409 00:26:41,060 --> 00:26:42,280 I see you got an event going on. 410 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:43,640 I'd like to come out. 411 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:44,640 Absolutely. 412 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,840 It's just bringing those people in from a different perspective, so that's kind of how 413 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:49,840 they view it. 414 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,920 Yeah, that's what I wanted to get across. 415 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:56,080 RWB is an event-driven community. 416 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,280 It's get out and do something-driven community. 417 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:05,400 And that fits right back into the role that you're playing now as a special events manager. 418 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:07,400 Tell us a little bit about that. 419 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:08,920 Sure. 420 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:15,320 The special events are defined as any of the external partners, organizations that want 421 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,480 to have TMRWB as a charitable beneficiary. 422 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,680 We have a range of things. 423 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:26,760 Partner with the Marine Corps Marathon, where we get some bibs in exchange for raising some 424 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,720 money and raising awareness about their partnership with us. 425 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:35,040 We've got a lot of small five case, 10 case that just say, hey, I wanted to raise some 426 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:36,480 money for someone. 427 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,040 And I said, who should I do it for? 428 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,240 And someone in our community said, oh, you got to talk to Joe or you got to talk to Susan. 429 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:48,320 And I get these calls all the time that says, hey, I just learned about you guys, but someone 430 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:53,240 wanted me to know that it would be good, put the good use to partner with you guys. 431 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,200 And so what can we do? 432 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,600 And then we'll usually just set up some kind of agreement where if we try to promote their 433 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:03,160 event, we put it in our app so that when you're searching for things, you might see the Dexter 434 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:04,880 Ann Arbor run in there. 435 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,960 And say, hey, wow, this run is benefiting Team Red, White and Blue. 436 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,160 I'd like to choose this one and go out there and support them. 437 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:18,480 And that's kind of why we view this community where we're offering real life and also virtual 438 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:19,480 events. 439 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,200 The past two years have shown that that's going to be something that's going to be more 440 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:30,360 part of our daily lives, even still today for many reasons, but also just the idea that 441 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:34,400 you can connect with people all over the country, that you can get on there and I've done virtual 442 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:38,280 yoga sessions where it's a live yoga session and I'm doing yoga with a bunch of different 443 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:39,280 eagles. 444 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:44,040 And sometimes you run into someone that you've seen before just there on the screen, but 445 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:51,400 it's another way to get people back into being active and healthy in their lifestyle. 446 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:57,120 And as you've mentioned before, it's a 501C3 charity that's always looking for some financial 447 00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:58,120 help. 448 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:04,360 It has a really blue chip list of corporate partners that you can find on the website. 449 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:09,800 And it also was the recent recipient of a very generous donation. 450 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:14,720 Tell us a little bit about that and what the plans are for how that will expand Team Red, 451 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:15,720 White and Blue. 452 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:16,720 Sure. 453 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:22,000 We of course are very excited for the $6 million donation that Mackenzie Scott gave and the 454 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:27,160 trust and the challenge that she's given to Team Red, White and Blue. 455 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:32,760 And so we put that money immediately to good use by hiring a business development person. 456 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:34,920 We only have 32 people on staff. 457 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:40,400 So what we're able to accomplish with 32 employees, I think is pretty good. 458 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:43,040 But now if we're going to serve more, we're going to have to do more and we're going to 459 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:44,200 need more. 460 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,080 And so I think we're going to grow our bench a little bit and get some people that have 461 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:54,000 some, we had a phenomenal number of applicants for that director of development position. 462 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,920 And we just hired a director of operations. 463 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,360 And I know that RDB, I think, interviewed and looked at resumes from over 100 people 464 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:01,640 trying to get those jobs. 465 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,480 And I think it says a lot when you put up that job and there's that many people that 466 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,040 are trying to get in there. 467 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:09,920 So we're really trying to figure out how we can take this to the next level. 468 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:15,400 One of the things that we do do, and you can find on our website under how to get involved, 469 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,760 is Eagle Expeditions. 470 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:24,160 These are things that we get people to go do some really challenging things, rim to rim, 471 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:28,880 Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountains backpacking, Boundary Waters kayaking. 472 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,280 These are just events that you can put on a calendar. 473 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:34,120 You can say, I've got to get a training plan. 474 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,720 We provide that training plan. 475 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:36,720 You can stick to it. 476 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:40,720 You're checking in with the big long runs, the long rides. 477 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:46,720 And you're kind of getting closer to that day, that event, together with other people. 478 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:50,960 Again, it's just a community of people on a phone that says, hey, I saw what you did. 479 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:51,960 Good job. 480 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,280 You're posting saying, hey, did I have a very good run today? 481 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,080 Or I just felt a little tired. 482 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,120 Like, hey, man, when I do that, I use this supplement. 483 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:00,560 Or I take this a little bit before I run. 484 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,840 If you're ever going to run more than 10 miles, definitely have some food. 485 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:06,320 Some people have all that will, but they just, you know, life's busy. 486 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,480 So they don't have the time to maybe dig into all the research, what to do. 487 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,240 But veterans often do. 488 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:13,960 Or someone in that group does. 489 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:15,480 Someone on our staff does. 490 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:17,360 And they're watching those groups, and they're helping those groups. 491 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,160 And there's a moderator. 492 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:20,640 And we're going to grow those. 493 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,560 And we're going to get more events for people to come out and do it in person. 494 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,320 We just released a new version of the app, and we're already looking at making changes 495 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:32,840 with the donation that we got so we can reach more people and make sure people are able 496 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:38,720 to track themselves better, whether it's nutrition, whether it's sleep, whether it's just meditation. 497 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:44,560 These other things that we're starting to really show as a huge benefit to our mental 498 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:45,880 and physical health. 499 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:52,080 Well, and that, again, it creates that network of other folks out there maybe have expertise 500 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:57,520 you don't have in health and wellness and mental health and physical health that team 501 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,120 RWBs connecting people. 502 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,640 And that's what we've been talking about. 503 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:10,680 So John founds with a team Red, White and Blue and a retired 20-year Army colonel. 504 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,280 We're glad that you had a little extra time today to talk to Veterans Radio. 505 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:19,680 And we'd be glad to check in with you every now and again to see what's new with team 506 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,680 Red, White and Blue. 507 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:22,680 I would love it. 508 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,120 And I do hope that people have a chance to check out teamRDV.org. 509 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:32,400 It's free to sign up, join our team and help us towards the nation's leading health and 510 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,440 wellness community for Veterans. 511 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:36,440 Thanks John. 512 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,480 Thank you so much Jim. 513 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,400 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 514 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:42,960 I am Jim Fossone. 515 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,280 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 516 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:49,160 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans. 517 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:57,600 And you can reach us at 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 518 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:02,480 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 519 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,560 shows by going to veteransradio.net. 520 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,840 And until next time, you are dismissed. 521 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:14,200 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 522 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:18,440 Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 523 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:22,440 There are experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 524 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:26,400 Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. 525 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:32,040 We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development 526 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:41,240 Council, NVBDC.org, VA and Arbor Health Care System, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Charles 527 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:50,400 Ketter, Ann Arbor, Michigan, VFW, Graff, O'Hara Post 423 in Ann Arbor, and the American 528 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:56,120 Legion Press Corn Post 46 also in Ann Arbor. 529 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:06,800 And the Veterans Lending Council, which advises lenders, realtors, buyers about the home loan 530 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:07,800 program. 531 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,000 And you can find them on Facebook. 532 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,480 We appreciate all your support. 533 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:19,520 You can go to veteransradio.net, click on the sponsor level, and continue to support 534 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:22,520 keeping Veterans Radio on the air. 535 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,880 And until next time, you are dismissed. 536 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:31,120 Lucky 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