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All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio.

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This is Veterans Radio.

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Welcome to Veterans Radio.

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I am Jim Fossone.

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I'm the officer of the deck today.

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We've got some great programs for you.

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I think you'll find very interesting.

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We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site

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or at the web.

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VeteransRadio.org is our new URL, VeteransRadio.org.

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Where we're on the web 24-7, you can find a lot of our podcasts there as well.

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We post new ones every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a new interview,

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something you didn't know before by going to VeteransRadio.org.

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And before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors.

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First up, we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org.

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It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran-owned businesses.

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You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org.

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We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans.

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Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation.

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You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at LegalHelpForVeterans.com.

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We want to welcome to VeteransRadio today Allison Jaislow, who is the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America,

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better known as IAVA.

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Allison, welcome to VeteransRadio.

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Thanks for having me.

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Well, we're thrilled to have the CEO of IAVA on and talk about a number of issues,

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but let's sort of set this up a little bit.

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How did a nice kid like you who graduated from the University of Central Missouri

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and Wentworth Military Academy under ROTC scholarships end up in the US Army?

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Well, the Army was a dream of mine when I was a kid.

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Starting when I was 13, I went on a career day field trip.

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In fact, I regularly draw attention to the fact that I'm the only success story of career day that I know of,

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and that's still the case.

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But it was a year where at my school, you went on a field trip, and I picked a bunch of other places to go.

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Because when you're 13, you want to go to a place where you can get some free stuff or maybe some food,

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but ended up at Fort Meier, which is the military base that's connected to Arlington National Cemetery.

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And from that day on, because the sort of ceremonial aspect of Fort Meier swept me off my feet,

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I had wanted to be in the Army ever since.

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In fact, the dream and goal, because I like to aim high at the time,

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the Army had yet to have its first four star woman general.

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So that was like the path that I thought I was going to walk in my life was join the Army,

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however, which way I could do it, and climb, climb, climb until hopefully I could reach the pinnacle of service in the Army.

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With the school, as you noted, on an ROTC scholarship, I began school the fall of 2000.

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So of course, my sophomore year was when September 11th happened,

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and of course the trajectory of my career changed fundamentally.

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I went in eyes wide open knowing that I could go to war someday,

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but of course, our country, our military, it's dealt with a lot ever since.

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But despite deploying twice to Iraq, it wasn't deployments that ultimately made me want to get out,

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just some of the challenges that I faced while I was in the military.

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But also, I had this sort of instinct or intuition that I could maybe make a better impact or a greater impact

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for the greater good of my country and my fellow countrymen if I actually did so out of uniform.

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And so in the years since, I have crisscrossed the country, dabbling in political campaigns

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and serving in a number of roles in government to include in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

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And I like to say that what I do today is sort of the perfect marriage of the skill sets I have learned post-service

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and then also my identity as a veteran myself, because I now have the great privilege of advocating

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on behalf of a generation of veterans that I belong to in a community that I belong to

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on the national stage in the media and in Washington, D.C.

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Yeah, you really do have a great blend of talent and experience for that,

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the work that was done on the staff of several members of Congress.

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And then in the White House communications area sort of helps set all of that up so that you can, you know,

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walk the halls and talk to folks and know how they think and how they react to certain challenges that they face.

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But before we get a little deeper here, I want to talk to folks about what your experiences in Iraq were about.

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And you exited, I don't know the years, I guess I didn't track the years down,

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but you were in from when to when.

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And I know your terminal rank was as a captain in the Army.

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Yeah, so I was sworn in to active duty upon graduation in May of 2004, went to my office for basic course in June of 2004, graduated in September.

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And by the day after Thanksgiving of that year was on a plane to Kuwait before heading north into Iraq.

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I served just under a year during that deployment.

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I was actually attached to a reserve unit from your neck of the woods.

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It was a reserve unit that drew from across the Midwest, but was based in Bay City, Michigan.

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Was able to get my platoon leader time running that platoon.

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And what we had originally deployed with was a warehousing mission.

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I had four different warehousing operations that I was the accountable officer for.

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But within 60 days, all the warehouses, but one were contracted out to Kelley, Granham, Root.

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And so my platoon then became both a force protection platoon and a, which included not just only base force protection, but also convoy security.

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And so my platoon, myself included, did convoys up and down Iraq and provided basically the convoy security element in between,

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whether it was regular petroleum tankers or flatbed trucks, you name it.

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You know, on a battlefield where those particular trucks aren't as agile as the gun trucks were, but that there were basically IEDs everywhere.

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I came home stateside to Fort Carson, Colorado for a little over a year after that and then deployed again in January 2007,

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which was just ahead of the surge being announced.

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And so I was overseas for about 15 months that time.

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I served on battalion staff for that particular deployment.

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And that one was at, you know, Camp Liberty or the Baghdad International Airport.

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And my first deployment was to Taji, Iraq.

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Well, one of the things you learned in that first deployment is that responsibility shift and change.

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And you just roll with whatever the next assignment is.

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And that's certainly been the case in your post military career.

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You've had a lot of interesting assignments.

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And now this most recent one here in 2023 is CEO of IAVA.

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Why don't you tell our listeners and maybe there's someone who are not familiar with what the work and the mission of IAVA is?

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So IAVA is the leading advocacy organization for the post 911 generation of veterans.

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In fact, we're commonly referred to as the leading voice of the post 911 generation of veterans.

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But essentially we are storytellers that tell the story of our generation,

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whether that's our needs or also our successes.

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And oftentimes, you know, doing that work best in class means we are telling that story and shaping that narrative in the media with the host of influencing public opinion,

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with the hopes of them influencing public policy action.

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IAVA, you know, counts among its achievements, the passage of the post 911 GI Bill,

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the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, which was named after one of our member advocates who died by suicide.

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And also laws passed very recently like the PACT Act, which helps veterans get care for exposure to toxins,

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which is a variety of different toxins over a number of generations.

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But, you know, IAVA really did spark the conversation around burn pitch exposure,

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excuse me, which are unique to our particular generation.

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Well, certainly one of the aspects of IAVA is it's sort of a different veterans organization

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than maybe the traditional nationally chartered ones like VFW, VVA, which came out of a specific generation.

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Talk to us about how IAVA is intentionally a different type of organization.

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Well, our founder is usually the first to point out that we are the first digitally native veterans organization.

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We don't have it anymore, but IAVA had a MySpace page back when MySpace was the thing.

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But, you know, our generation, first of all, we are much fewer in numbers,

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but we're not congregating necessarily in Legion halls.

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And so we are more connected online than anywhere else, whether it's in a Facebook page,

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whether it's, you know, on a group text between battle buddies or a group chat of some sort.

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And so I think that's one way that makes us unique, both where our constituency is living and breathing,

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but also that we are uniquely capable of existing online.

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You know, IAVA, I feel like, has been a disrupter, you know, especially in Washington, DC,

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in a way that has been necessary.

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And I think this actually makes us similar to the VVA.

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You know, we stand in solidarity with other generations of veterans,

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but we're there to make sure that, like, our generation's needs don't get overlooked,

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which is, you know, ever more important because we're much smaller in numbers.

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And I think, you know, organizational posture aside, something that also makes us a unique voice,

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is that we're the only major national veterans organization that represents exclusively volunteers.

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You know, every person who served in Iraq and Afghanistan or the other, you know, areas post 9-11

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that we are still actually deploying troops to fight today, they all stepped up to serve

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and did so willingly.

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Some of them deployed like myself multiple times, and we have very unique needs for that reason.

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And I think, you know, you and I were talking about this before we jumped on.

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I think that puts us in a unique position to also advocate around issues like the recruiting crisis,

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you know, and what we should be doing to make sure that we have a healthy all-volunteer force,

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because we are veterans who were all volunteers, whereas, you know,

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some of the other organizations definitely have a mix, right?

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And again, I think it's a, it just made sense that this evolved, IAVA evolved into this position,

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because you referenced VVA, Vietnam Veterans Association, had to do the same thing for their generation

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of folks to try to get heard for their issues.

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So this organization for the veterans who've served since post 9-11, and, you know,

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we've just only within the last year or so ended a 20-year war, IAVA has this unique responsibility

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to that group of veterans with their own set of issues.

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And certainly it's a more digital, more comfortable on the internet sort of group,

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more of an online sort of group.

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And one of the things that you've done with that is, and I think this helps you become a better

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policy advocate, is when you have data when walking the halls of Congress.

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This is probably one of those things you learn because of your experiences on Capitol Hill

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and in the White House communication.

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But IAVA went out and surveyed its members about issues.

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Can we talk about the 2023 IAV member survey?

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Sure.

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You know, I think over time IAVA has done two things really well with our data, which is

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comprised of, you know, over 425,000 members and supporters, and some of which are verified

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veterans.

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In other words, like you haven't even just self-identified, but we have paperwork that

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says you are 100% of that.

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So when you're responding to our surveys, we know for a fact we've seen your DD214,

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or we've seen your VA card, et cetera.

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And we have been able to field the most comprehensive non-governmental survey of our generation.

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But we also do what I like to call flash polls, which is what we did over the summer, to just

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gauge where our membership was on some of the issues of the day, which, you know, it's

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funny, people will like to pigeonhole us on just veterans issues, right?

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But veterans are like everybody.

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They have opinions about other issues of the day.

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And I think that we believe that it's important that the veteran voice is heard as a part

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of other conversations as well.

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You could say we are people too.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I know.

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I will tell you a great deal of my advocacy is I was actually at a conference last week

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where I highlighted this.

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I was like, we aren't just like, you can't look at the veterans population and like put

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us over in this corner as though like, you know, all the vets are there.

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It's like we are both veterans and part of like a variety of other constituency groups,

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you know, and we are everywhere in terms of like geography, socioeconomic status, you

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know.

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Well, one of the things you did in your poll, and I think this was interesting because,

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you know, folks in the military say, hey, we're always say, we're the last ones who

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want more.

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We are peacekeepers.

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We know the cost of war.

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We don't we're not, you know, warmongers.

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And one of the questions you asked folks was about authorization of use of military force.

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I thought that was an interesting statistic.

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Talk to us about it.

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Well, actually, nothing unifies our membership more than a desire to see the 2001 and 2002

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authorizations of military force either repealed or reformed.

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They've been open ended since they were passed to authorize, you know, retaliation for 9-11

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and then also to go into Iraq.

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And frankly, those open ended authorizations have been exploited by administration after

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administration.

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And I think two things you're right in the sense that members of the military because

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they understand the consequences of wars more so than people who aren't emotionally connected

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to it are perhaps more inclined to be more thoughtful and judicious when we even go to

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war.

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But more importantly, leaders should be doing the same, right?

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And so I think the beginning and end of the AUMF isn't saying that like nobody's still,

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you know, doesn't want to fight terrorism, you know, where we have troops deployed right

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now in Syria and Iraq.

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There may be a very good reason why troops are deployed there to, you know, make sure

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that ISIS doesn't get out of control or fill in the blank other threat that we're fighting

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across the globe right now.

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But what we do owe those troops and what we do owe their families is to have a constant

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conversation about where they're going, under what terms and what purpose.

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And we're not having that conversation, at least Congress isn't, and that is like their

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most, you know, solemn responsibility.

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In effect, they've been advocating, excuse me, advocating their responsibility to our

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troops and their families for, you know, going on decades.

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Well, as you say, that open-ended authorization, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that that ought

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to be reduced or eliminated.

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But again, that was probably the highest thing everybody agreed on on this 550 or so verified

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veterans that were surveyed.

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Another one that's, you know, in the news is how your members felt about Ukraine and

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the U.S. involvement in Ukraine.

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Again, not as high, not 85%, but 67% either agreed with U.S. involvement strongly or agreed

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to it.

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So, while there is experience, there's also understanding that if you don't do something,

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the bad guys always win, right?

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So that led me to your results on China, which is something I worry about.

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Talk to us how your members felt about the China situation.

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I mean, a majority of IAV members, you know, over 50% indicated that they are only partly

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confident in the ability of the U.S. to deal with threats from China, and 30% don't believe

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that we're prepared at all.

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So to your earlier point, even if vets and IAV veterans specifically want sort of checks

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and balances on how and when we go to war and how we combat threats and or want, you

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know, political leadership specifically to be thinking through how and when we go to

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war.

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They also want to make sure that we are, you know, protected for the threats of the future.

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And honestly, China is a good example.

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Like if we effectively protect ourselves from the threats, we could also avoid a war with

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China, right?

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Absolutely.

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And your members, certainly the early ones in Iraq, went there with unarmored vehicles,

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right?

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We weren't ready for it at all.

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And you don't, you know, I know the slogan was you fight the war with what the equipment

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you've got.

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But that just showed poor planning, poor thinking ahead.

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And I kind of read this result where 30% of the survey says, hey, we're not ready.

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We're leading ourselves back into a situation where once, if it does happen, we're going

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to have folks in unarmored vehicles, if you will.

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So it's an interesting observation, I think, from folks who've been there and done that.

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Well, and I also think our generation, to your point about unarmored vehicles, not just

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like unarmored vehicles, like the enemy was always one step ahead of us.

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And so we needed to be able to innovate in real time.

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And I think our generation has sort of lived seeing how the DOD is not very good at doing

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that.

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The DOD is still very much like in their procurement process is still very much stuck in the olden

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days of being able to plan out for wars in certain timelines that we just can't, you

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know, we need to be able to move and shake like they do in Silicon Valley to keep up

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with warfighting these days.

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And I don't know that our government and the bureaucracy is totally there.

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And I think that our generation of veterans has a unique appreciation for that.

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And I think that would give us a higher anxiety level when it comes to like fighting the threats

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of the future, you know?

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It is, again, one of those things where you say, boy, I hope somebody's planning the right

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way on this stuff and we don't get caught short.

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And you can hear a lot of that about does the Navy really have enough ships?

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Do we have the right types of ships?

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Do we have the right technology to be able to fight China on the seas and by the Philippines

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and down by Taiwan and Australia?

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It's a big theater to fight in a much different theater than the desert, much different theater

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than urban warfare we're seeing in Ukraine.

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So you've got to think about it a different way.

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I want to move to another part of your survey, which was domestic policy, because this is

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something that I've certainly anecdotally noticed every time I talk on the issue of cannabis

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on Veterans Radio.

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But talk to us a little bit about what you found in terms of support on legalizing cannabis.

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Well you know, I'd say from the jump that something that you're listening to me to remember

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is our generation of veterans has lived through the opioid crisis.

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And so whether it's cannabis or other forms of alternative therapies, our generation is

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more eager to get access to alternative therapies than generations of the past.

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So that's the first thing.

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And something we have advocated for for some time is that minimum research into cannabis

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and atalium properties, not just for managing your PTSD, but maybe also chronic pain, because

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we do know that there are veterans who are benefiting from use of cannabis products,

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but also because it is being legalized in many states across the country, which I'm

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sure your listeners have seen on the landscape.

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But the reality is if you get your care through the VA in a state that's legalized it, your

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VA doctor still can't prescribe it to you, or even say, you know, I can prescribe you

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this medication or that medication, or I can't prescribe you cannabis, but you do live in

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a state where it's available and some veterans have seen positive effects from using cannabis

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for their PTSD or positive effects for using cannabis to relieve their back pain after,

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you know, two different deployments with a bunch of gear on and convoys.

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And so our members more than I'm looking at the data right now, but it's an overwhelming

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number of our members would like to see legalization at the national level because it's holding

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back veterans who want to get access to this care.

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I mean, we have a, we have one of our veteran leaders who lives in Indiana and regularly

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drives to Illinois to access cannabis products that he pays for on his own dime after spending

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time and gas money to go get the cannabis that has really helped his PTSD specifically.

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And I think our fellow vets, even if you don't want to use cannabis yourself, you don't want

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your buddies like having to bend over backwards to get something that says that they, or that

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they tell you really makes an improvement in their quality of life.

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And usually somebody's by the time they've gotten there, they've right, they've gone

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through all the prescription drugs and other treatments that the VA can prescribe.

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It was only 10% of the polling that was opposed or strongly opposed to legalizing it.

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Everybody else fell in the, you know, 90% or something, 85% fell in the supporting legalization

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of cannabis.

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And we really need to, you know, the federal government needs to get on with this in part

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because so that the VA can say, we've done the research and these drugs and this cannabis

295
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use has interactions, doesn't have interactions, and we can put some strength and dosages issues

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and around it.

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I mean, I think that's part of what's missing and part of what you were commenting on.

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We just need to do more research, don't we?

299
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Definitely.

300
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And I think, you know, what you're speaking to is sort of the broader like conversation

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around regulation period.

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Like there is a, there is positive incentive, even people who aren't cannabis fans to, because

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of where we are right now, both in cultural acceptance and legalization state by state

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to just get the federal government there because once you do, then we know that everybody's

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going to be using safe cannabis.

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To your point, they'll be using the right amount of, of dosage because we'll be, we'll

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have research behind it and we'll be able to give people that information because nobody

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would want to, you know, if the purpose is to improve your quality of life and you want

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the right amount of dosage to be able to do that versus, you know, just shooting from

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the hip, right?

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But lots of people to your point who have already tried and knocked down success with

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pills and or, you know, there are people who've taken pills and then, you know, maybe got

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it addicted to them and like don't want to keep taking them and they would want another

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therapy because of, you know, what opioids are doing to some people these days, then

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why wouldn't we want to be able to at this moment in time, regulate an industry and change

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the laws so people can get access to what is already very readily available but also

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in the right quantity and dosage that's fit for whatever condition they have, you know,

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and research will get you there, my friends.

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Probably it will and I think this problem will solve itself, it's just taking too long.

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We're talking to Allison Jaislow who is the CEO of IAVA about their 2023 member survey,

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we still have a few more items there and then we've got a couple of other areas we want

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to cover about women veterans and recruiting issues.

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Allison, one of the things that you I think busted open in your data here was the, we

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were joking about it earlier, we're all people too, so not all veterans of the IAVA era,

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if you will, vote one way or the other way.

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They're not all woke and they're not all strict right-wing conservatives.

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I thought the statistics here were there were particularly interesting because it helped

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demonstrate or prove what I think most of us knew anyway.

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It's not a monolithic block, so tell us what your results on elections got you.

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Yeah, I mean what I like to say is the veteran vote is a jump ball, at least among IAVA members.

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I mean we're about a third Democrat, a third Republican and the third not overly impressed

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with either party.

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I think that that also flies in the face I think of what a lot of people's assumptions

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would be about the veteran population.

335
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Again, our generation is unique.

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I like to say I feel like we're a combination largely of millennials and Gen Z. Of course

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there are other veterans who serve post 9-11 who don't count themselves as so far as those

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generations, but the median IAVA member is actually the same age as I am, it's 41.

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I think most people of our age and generation are more either small P progressive or libertarian

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than maybe you'd find in other generations.

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So I think there are more than anything else looking for a candidate that can, I don't

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know, match their values and are probably open to somebody who's outside of the traditional

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box that we've been fed in the past.

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Well, it'll be interesting to see specifically and this is something that's important to

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me leading our organization is like we, the candidates need to be speaking us or they

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will risk losing a very important voting, very important because it's a reliable voting

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block.

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Well, in that regards, 88% or so said they will vote in the 2024 election without question.

349
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There you go.

350
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Right.

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That's a high percentage of folks that, hey, I'm going to, I've done my job here serving.

352
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I'm going to make sure I vote on who's there, but it was, as you say, a jump ball on presidential

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candidates and Democrats and Republicans sort of split right down into thirds.

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And so I'm not, you know, this far out, I'm not sure it tells us a whole lot, but it

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does tell us they're going to go out and vote.

356
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So yes, I agree.

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The candidates ought to be speaking with IAVA members and veterans in general and not just

358
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lip service, which we get all too much of at election times, don't we?

359
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Yeah.

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And I think our generation specifically is kind of over it.

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You know, a lot of my contemporaries, their entire adult lives have been shaped by elected

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leaders failing us.

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And so I think the hunger right now is for real, authentic leadership.

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I think not just among our generation of veterans, but I think we're hopefully getting

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to a tipping point where the American electorate is going to demand it too.

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You know, I think people have talked like they've really wanted it, but haven't necessarily

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voted that way.

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And then I think this is an exciting time for our generation of veterans because I think

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we're well positioned to step in and be those leaders now, you know?

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It's taken some time for, whether it's in the private sector or the public sector, for

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you know, many of us to actually build up a resume to be quote unquote qualified or,

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you know, worthy of elected office at this point.

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But I think that I think we're really hitting a moment when it comes to some of the best

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among us being in positions to lead us forward.

375
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And that actually gives me hope these days.

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No, that's good.

377
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That's a good point.

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We're talking to Allison Jaislow who's the CEO of IAVA and an army captain served a couple

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of times over in Iraq and certainly at a time when women veterans weren't always treated

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the same or women military members, service members weren't always treated the same as

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their male counterparts.

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So being in this position of leadership at IAVA I think helps communicate the value and

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that there are women veterans out there.

384
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But you probably experienced that Allison where women weren't in combat units there

385
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technically although everywhere in Iraq was a combat unit essentially and you didn't get

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the same sort of maybe awards and decorations as male counterparts and sometimes that can

387
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impact competitive promotions or other career opportunities.

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So this is this having the badge of CEO gives you a sort of a leg up to talk to folks about

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some of these distinctions, doesn't it?

390
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:35,640
It sure does.

391
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You know, I think we've come a long way since when I served women can now, you know, serve

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in combat designated roles which even though I'm here to say, you know, there were bullets

393
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flying over the convoys I was riding in and there were also IEDs hitting the convoys that

394
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I was riding in when I deployed but I was a logistics officer by school training and

395
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so even though I was, you know, in combat it was, you know, in a way that wasn't at

396
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least foreseen by the people who made policy around women prior to the Afghanistan and

397
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Iraq wars.

398
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This created, you know, some cascading effects when it comes to, you know, whether women's

399
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:29,520
wartime service was appropriately acknowledged the way that a male peer would.

400
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:35,120
I think there are many women who service and especially some women who really serve with

401
00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:41,520
distinction and valor in combat did get acknowledged but many women who got overlooked and maybe

402
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:46,960
weren't given the awards or recognition that, you know, a man who was running the same platoon

403
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:51,040
or the same company would otherwise have gotten.

404
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:56,360
But you know, hopefully times have changed and I think it is important that we continue

405
00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:02,360
to lean into this conversation in part because it does come down to not just policy change

406
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but leadership as well.

407
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And you know, step one is getting more women into combat designated roles but also into

408
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combatant leadership posts as well which you're seeing a few women, you know, today serving

409
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:23,000
in and that was also key to getting, we just celebrated the first woman who's a member

410
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of the Joint Chiefs and having women continue to ascend into those types of leadership roles

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I think will help women fully get the recognition that they deserve and will have earned the

412
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next time we go to war.

413
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:45,800
Oh, absolutely and it means a lot not only to the service member but I've certainly seen

414
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it over the decades how much it means to the veterans family, the veterans community, their

415
00:35:53,280 --> 00:36:00,880
associates so not getting the recognition has this ripple effect that can be interpreted

416
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:04,800
as well as something less than and that's certainly not the case.

417
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So I'm glad to hear that it's still an issue that people are leaning in on.

418
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One more issue and I promise this is the last one when we talked about it when we started

419
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that I wanted to get some comments on because of the recruiting misses that every branch

420
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of service is suffering at the moment.

421
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As we, you talked earlier, one of the unique things about IAVA is its members were all

422
00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:34,240
volunteers.

423
00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:39,000
They obviously have to have volunteers at full strength for our military.

424
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It becomes a national security issue.

425
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,880
So give us, I know you've been talking and thinking about this issue, give us some thoughts

426
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:57,200
on how does the military in the country do a better job of recruiting into these spaces?

427
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:03,400
Well I certainly don't have all the answers but because this is something that I've personally

428
00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:09,200
been spending time on that I feel a sense of responsibility as you noted leading me,

429
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:16,960
the largest national veterans organization that represents exclusively volunteers that

430
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:22,320
I feel a sense of responsibility to be a part of the solution in.

431
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:30,240
You know I think first and foremost I think service needs to be hip.

432
00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:37,280
You know I think culturally instead of just like, you know, otherizing the troops, you

433
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:43,240
know I wish we could foster in young people a desire to be one of them.

434
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:45,000
And I think that that can happen two ways.

435
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:51,600
I think it can happen just because America is what it is through Hollywood.

436
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:52,600
You know?

437
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:53,600
Sure it's cultural.

438
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:58,120
The Air Force will tell you that they saw a little bit of a bump after a Top Gun Maverick

439
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:06,360
came out but I also think as veterans, especially because a lot of veterans that I know aren't

440
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:11,480
necessarily like self promoters who will like talk about themselves or their service, I

441
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:13,880
think we need to be more comfortable doing it.

442
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,520
We are fewer and fewer in numbers.

443
00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:23,800
The American people know less and less of us and I think, you know, how many people

444
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:28,240
do you know who went into a profession because that's what their parents did or somebody else

445
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:29,240
who they knew.

446
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:30,240
Absolutely.

447
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:31,240
You know.

448
00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:32,740
Dr. Lawyer, Baker, Candlestick.

449
00:38:32,740 --> 00:38:33,740
Exactly.

450
00:38:33,740 --> 00:38:38,920
And so maybe your parents didn't serve although, you know, the military today is a good example

451
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,320
of like families who are serving.

452
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:46,400
You know, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters are making up a disproportionate amount

453
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:50,840
of the military even with this few of people serving these days.

454
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:55,360
But the more people who know us and see us and who can get familiar with what it is to

455
00:38:55,360 --> 00:39:01,000
serve, the more we can like get young people in America curious about what that might be

456
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:07,080
for them, whether it's a career or whether it's, you know, just a part of their, you

457
00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,200
know, adult lived experience.

458
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:16,800
And that also gives like the conversation allows people to be more curious and interested

459
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:22,520
and maybe even see themselves in uniform, but it also allows them to understand some

460
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:27,600
of the benefits that can come from service, whether it's the leadership training that

461
00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,760
I got or the education that I got, you know.

462
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:38,080
And I think that's one of the things we need to all talk more about is that growth, those

463
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:44,000
things we got, the intangibles we got when we served that kind of carried on through

464
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,720
life.

465
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:49,360
Maybe it's showing up on time and realizing you're going to have to work hard and not

466
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:54,840
everything's going to be 100% fair, but those are all life skills, right, that you have

467
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:59,320
to learn to keep moving forward and you can learn them in the military and you can serve

468
00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:06,760
a higher purpose in the military if, you know, it's something that, you know, if you love

469
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:11,480
your freedoms, somebody's got to protect those freedoms and I don't know that we do a great

470
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:15,360
job of expressing those ideas.

471
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:22,320
And I think it'd be a wonderful thing for IAVA to keep promoting out there and that

472
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:26,960
is the real value of service to people.

473
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:31,560
Even if you get out and there are many people who are career soldiers, you know, I don't

474
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:38,960
know many of that who don't still carry a part of their service experience with them

475
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:40,800
and hold it near and dear to their heart.

476
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:46,280
Some people who, you know, went out guns and blazing, you know, not looking back, they

477
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:53,960
still have, you know, battle buddies or friends from that time or memories from that time,

478
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:59,160
whether you serve peacetime or in wartime that profoundly change you for the rest of

479
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:00,440
your life.

480
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:06,920
And I think anybody who wants to serve should consider it and I think veterans should be

481
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:12,360
encouraging young people to consider service but also non-veterans.

482
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:19,800
You know, I hate hearing stories about parents who sometimes think that their kids are too

483
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:23,200
good for serving in uniform.

484
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:29,560
I don't know where that mentality comes from but, you know, parents, even if you come from

485
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,840
a very privileged background, if you have a kid who says, you know, I feel like I'm

486
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:38,040
being called to enlist in the Marines, you should support them doing that.

487
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:46,160
It is very inspiring especially to see children from privileged backgrounds who want to roll

488
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:51,800
up their sleeves and serve something greater than themselves and think themselves no better

489
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,600
than the other enlisted Marines, you know?

490
00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:55,600
Oh, absolutely.

491
00:41:55,600 --> 00:42:00,440
And you'll get a, if you do that, if you join up, you're going to meet people from all across

492
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:06,240
the country, all kinds of different approaches and experiences in life and that will make

493
00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:08,680
you a richer person as a result.

494
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:16,040
Well, and could you imagine what our country would be like today if more people were stepping

495
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:20,440
up to serve a common cause and meeting people from different backgrounds?

496
00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:25,560
Look, I feel like some of the problems we're facing in our country today could be ameliorated

497
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:33,440
if more people served together, whether it's in military service or in other ways, towards

498
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:39,000
a common mission and a common goal that worked to make this country a better place than it

499
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,000
was yesterday.

500
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:41,000
Absolutely.

501
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,920
We create a commonality, not build barriers in between folks.

502
00:42:44,920 --> 00:42:51,760
Well, we certainly appreciate the extra time that Alison Jaislow, the CEO of IAVA gave

503
00:42:51,760 --> 00:43:00,200
us, your mission that you're supporting is really important and we are glad to be able

504
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:05,400
to broadcast it out a little further and help bring folks to you.

505
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:10,480
You got an easy website for folks to find you.

506
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:13,920
Why don't you give them that if they want to know more about IAVA?

507
00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:14,920
Sure.

508
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:19,640
You can visit us at IAVA.org.

509
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:27,000
We are a nonprofit that grinds away advocating on our generation of veterans.

510
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:33,040
Please visit IAVA.org and learn more about us and if you so choose, donate in support

511
00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:34,040
of our work.

512
00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:36,240
Alison, thank you for your time today.

513
00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:39,400
Thank you for having me, Jim.

514
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:42,320
And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today.

515
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:43,800
I am Jim Fawson.

516
00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,160
It's been a pleasure to be your host.

517
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:50,960
I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at

518
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:58,520
800-693-4800 or LegalHelpforVeterans.com on the web.

519
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:03,400
You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio

520
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:08,040
shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org.

521
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,760
That's veteransradio.org.

522
00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:14,640
And until next time, you are dismissed.

523
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:18,440
If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for

524
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,680
Veterans at 1-800-693-4800.

525
00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,680
They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

526
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:30,640
Their number again, 1-800-693-4800.

527
00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:36,240
We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development

528
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:45,440
Council, NVBDC.org, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Charles

529
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:54,120
S. Kettles Chapter, Ann Arbor, Michigan, VFW Graf O'Hara Post 423 in Ann Arbor, and

530
00:44:54,120 --> 00:45:00,080
the American Legion Press Corn Post 46 also in Ann Arbor.

531
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:01,560
We appreciate all your support.

532
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:05,000
You can go to veteransradio.net.

533
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:11,600
Click on the sponsor level and continue to support keeping veteransradio on the air.

534
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:15,000
And until next time, you are dismissed.

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