All across America and around the world, this
is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good
day. I'm Jim Fosson. I'm the Officer of the Deck
today here on Veterans Radio and thanks for joining
us. We've got some interesting stories for you.
We always want to remind you, you can find more
about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site or
at the web, veteransradio .org, where we're on
the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of our podcasts
there as well. We post new ones every Tuesday,
so you can get a new story, a new interview,
something you didn't know before by going to
VeteransRadio .org. And before we get started,
we want to thank our sponsors. First up, we want
to thank National Veteran Business Development
Council, NVBDC .org. It was established to certify
both service -disabled and veteran -owned businesses.
You'll find out how they can help your business
by going to NVBDC .org. We want to thank Legal
Help for Veterans. Legal Help for Veterans fights
for veterans disability rights all across the
nation. You can reach them at 800 -693 -4800
or on the web at legalhelpforveterans .com. And
finally, PuroClean. PuroClean is the paramedics
of property damage. It provides water damage
remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke
damage remediation, mold removal, biohazard cleanup.
It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. You
can learn more about them by going to PuroClean
.com. We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today
Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee. We are very honored
to have him on. He is a recipient of the Medal
of Honor. Master Sergeant, welcome to Veterans
Radio. It's great to be here and thank you for
having me. Well, we're glad to tell your story
and promote some of the things you're working
on, but it's sort of let's go all the way back
to the beginning. How did a nice kid like you
from Oklahoma find himself in the military? I
came from a military family, so I was always
very interested in service and I was all, you
know, whatever movie was out in Hollywood, glamorizing
certain parts of it. That's, that's what I was
going to do. And then, you know, I joined the
National Guard in high school. It kind of lit
the fire and then, you know, ended up in the
Marine Corps. And, you know, I got the ADHD.
And I can't stick at anything too long and decided
to run my run myself through the Army and see
how that was. Yeah, it's really a fascinating
start here. It is what I wanted to talk about
is you jump into the Oklahoma Army Guard. I think
you're at 17 years old and after graduating high
school move into the Marine Corps for eight years.
What were you chasing? I was chasing an adventure
and I was chasing a challenge. So the National
Guard was kind of a great way to get me started
and led me to validate my belief that I was destined
to serve. But I was really looking for that deeper
challenge and the adventure. The Oklahoma National
Guard was neat, but as I got out of high school,
I wanted to see other parts of the world. And
the Marine Corps promised me that and delivered
that. I think a lot of youth kind of wonder if
they measure up and and you know do I measure
up to what my father's generation or my grandfather's
generation was was that a little bit of this
is hey the National Guard's okay but do I measure
up to the Marine Corps? Yeah definitely there
was a piece of that. My father was a Marine and
uh My grandfather beforehand was a Marine, and
of course they both told me not to join. I took
that as a personal insult. They don't think I'm
tough enough. I'm definitely going to show them.
Yeah, that's how that works, isn't it? Reverse
psychology. You did the Marine Corps for eight
years, and then in 2009 you joined the United
States Army. But you joined the Army with something
in mind, I suspect, right? Again, measuring up.
So, yeah, I joined the Army as an 18 X -ray contract,
which means you go straight to Special Forces
selection. I was, you know, prepared for that.
As a Forced Reconnaissance Marine, it was not
super challenging to pass selection. The Q Corps
caught me off guard, but yeah, I was a civilian
for 12 hours the afternoon where I was released
from the Marine Corps. That next morning, I joined
the Army. It's an unusual and interesting and
probably telling sequence of events that get
you into the Army Special Forces. You have, I
think, a total service record of about 24 years
along the way of, let's say you got promoted
to Master Sergeant in the US Army. But also along
the way, we're moving into the 2000s, and we're
going to find ourselves post 9 -11 with fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tell us a little bit
more about your career. So my very first deployment
in the Marines, the nation transferred to war
footing. you know I was having a cool adventure
traveling around Asia and then you know woke
up on the morning of September 11th 2001 and
I was I was in the military at war and the rest
of my the rest of my career you know nearly every
point in my career was spent fighting the war
on terror um which was uh you know it was it
was unique uh gratifying I'm glad I got to serve
my country and and heartbreaking I think every
At least once a year, I buried a friend in service
to the country. So that was, you know, also you
spend a piece of yourself doing that. Well, your
time in the Marines had you in, I believe, Iraq
on Anbar province, if I've got the notes right
here. Yeah, so I lived out of Al -Assad, both
trips, and we had a direct action mission as
a force reconnaissance Marine, attacking the
mid -level. members of Al Qaeda, so it was very
rewarding work. A lot of times you kind of have
to be subjective about how valuable your service
is. Both of those trips I did not have to really
look around to see if it was valuable. Every
night I did something that was profoundly valuable
and rewarding. One of the things you've commented
about and we're talking to Medal of Honor recipient
Earl Plumlee You've talked about the diversity
of people that you served with both in the Marines
and in the Army. Talk a little bit about why
that's important to you. Well, to me, as an American,
I think that every citizen should get the chance
to serve, even though it's not always possible,
and should want to serve. And I always thought
it was really neat to see the full cross spectrum
of the United States. And what I always said
is that after boot camp, the group of friends
I had made there, when we put our civilian clothes
to go out in town, it was a hilarious picture
because we had cowboys out of Texas, farmers
out of Kansas, surfers out of Southern California,
and kids out of Boston and New York, and none
of us dressed even remotely the same. And you
thought yourself, I ain't in Oklahoma anymore.
Yeah, I'm definitely not in Oklahoma anymore.
You know, as you continue to serve and you were
sent into Afghanistan, there's a particular battle
in August of 2013 at Forward Operating Base,
GANSI. Tell us what happened that day that sort
of has certainly changed your life. Yeah, well
it's definitely changed my life. The Taliban
decided to make an example out of our camp. and
do a spectacular attack. They're hoping to kill
enough Americans that maybe we would decide to
leave. Unluckily for them, you know, my unit
was having a change of command. So we had, you
know, triple the number of Green Berets that
would normally be on installation. And they initiated
the attack with a 4 ,000 pound truck bomb and
15 members of their unit with suicide vests and
brand new Chinese rifles, you know, stormed through
the breach they'd made and unfortunately found
me and my friends waiting for them on the other
side of that wall. This is one of these things
that I don't care how much you think about it.
You can't practice this. It's reactive. And how
did you and the other green braes of Special
Forces soldiers react here? what we we knew we
didn't know the nature of the attack and we knew
with a bomb that size there was undoubtedly going
to be injuries and possibly a fight so we grabbed
our stuff and moved moved to the point of conflict
and you know unfortunately the Taliban didn't
tell us exactly what they were doing so we parked
right in the middle of them Yeah, another one
of those brilliant decisions by who's driving
the vehicle, right? Stop here! Yeah, stop here.
What are these guys doing? And then they all
started shooting us up. Part of this was the
insurgents were dressed in Afghan National Army
uniforms, if I understand it. Yeah, so they had
tried attacks like this several times and And
they were always changing the techniques that
they were using. And this one, they decided that
they could never pass the American, but they
definitely looked like Afghans, so they used
that to get deep into the camp without being
fired upon. And let me just read from the Military
Times article. Quote, without regard for his
own safety, Staff Sergeant Plumlee hopped out
of the vehicle using his body to protect its
driver while drawing his sidearm. He fought off
two attackers, was wounded by a detonating suicide
vest before he could get to adequate cover. He
killed two insurgents in his field of fire, but
at least eight were still firing on American
forces. He left his position with only his pistol
and advanced on the enemy alone, finally reaching
a fellow soldier behind cover. After what must
have seemed like hours under intense enemy fire,
he and the other soldier no longer alone withdrew
to join other American and coalition troops who
were preparing a counterattack," end of quote.
And both an American and a Polish soldier were
killed in this insurgent attack, as it's reported.
I'm not going to ask you to talk about this,
Master Sergeant. It just sort of seems that I'll
let the article and your actions speak for itself.
But coming out of that incident, you were awarded
the Silver Star. And subsequently, it was upgraded
to the Medal of Honor and presented to you by
President Joe Biden in December of 2021. Nobody
goes into the military for the decorations, right?
That was never a big part of my plan. I was chasing
the stuff that makes your uniform look fancy,
like jump wings and dive bubbles, going to all
the cool schools. It was never my plan to get
a Purple Heart or a Valor Award. Yeah, nobody
should seek the Purple Heart. Yeah, if your plan
is to get the Purple Heart, call me and let me
talk you down. That is a terrible plan. As time
moved on, and as I said, the battle occurred
in 2013 and eight years later, the Silver Star
gets upgraded to the Medal of Honor. This is,
I think most people don't understand, is what
a rigorous process. getting an upgrade or getting
the Medal of Honor being awarded to you is, can
you talk a little bit about that period of time
where, hey, these other guys are talking about
this should be upgraded and your reaction to
all of that? At first there was a ton of interest
and scrutiny and the award got downgraded to
the Silver Star and I thought that would be the
end of it. And especially as an E -6, I remember
being profoundly relieved that it got downgraded.
I was terrified for the eventuality of having
to wear the Medal of Honor. And the members of
the Pentagon and the upper levels of the Army
would call me from time to time asking for clarification
over the years. And I kind of got used to it.
And it was, you know, About six months before
I got the medal the phone calls, you know changed
in nature and they quit asking me about the battle
or asking me for access to people for for witness
statements and they started asking me what I
was doing and where I was gonna be and That's
when I started to kind of think that something
was up but you know, honestly, I was I remember,
you know having pursuing my career as a Silver
Star recipient and The incredible scrutiny of
the Medal of Honor was off of me, and I was just
really happy to get back to work as a Green Beret
and have my career. I think that's what a lot
of people don't understand, that the Medal of
Honor is sort of thrusted upon you, isn't it?
It is, and it's an incredibly humbling thing,
and it's nerve -racking. you know the rest of
the time that I spent in uniform until now you're
scrutinized in a positive way but everyone is
always going to remember what you said and emulate
your behavior and and that could be you know
that can be overwhelming. There is a Medal of
Honor Award Process Review Board. The first kind
of look at it, the board said, hey, the guy is
just doing his job. And it didn't, under that
review, reach the level of a Medal of Honor.
It was subsequently looked at again and moved
up, upgraded to the Medal of Honor. You at some
point get a call telling you it's been upgraded.
and let's start working on coordination to meet
the president and receive the award. Very few
men will ever get a chance to go through that
month or two where that's going on. Tell us what's
going on during that period. So I got a call
from the president. He told me I was gonna be
getting a Medal of Honor and spoke to me for
kind of a long time. In my opinion, I don't know
how long people usually get to talk to the president.
But immediately after that, I talked to a woman
from the Pentagon and she was like, hey, this
is still a tightly held thing. We don't want
to tell anybody, but we also don't want you getting
deployed or sent into a training environment
where you won't be able to get reached because
the day was still not set after the president
called me. And I told him, yep, that's fine.
Don't worry about it. I got all that handled
and hung up on her and then immediately deployed
on what would be one of my last deployments.
Well, the logistics always work out and there
is a lot of logistics to get you, friends, family,
members of the unit into Washington for this.
Tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, so when
we finally got warned, hey, you need to be at
the White House on this day, we had about 10
days, I think, to get it done. And the Army decided
I needed to wear the new service uniform, the
AGSU, and I didn't have it. And they had a piece
of it that would fit me at somewhere at an O
base. Almost completely across the United States
and let me say you're not you're not a small.
You're not a small guy I'm not a small guy. I
got big feet apparently but they they put one
together the my boots actually came in the evening
before the ceremony and the Honor Guard from
Arlington, they took turns polishing my boots
for me so that I could sleep. But the first time
I ever put that uniform on was about an hour
before I went to the White House. Those are the
little backroom things none of us see. But you
do get to be in the backroom and talk to the
president a little bit before they open those
doors and all the lights are on and the nerves
really run. How was meeting the president? You
know, it was it's amazing um whether he's whether
you voted for him or not if you're if you're
meeting the president united states and you're
not just odd um you know i challenge your how
patriotic you are so uh it was really neat uh
the president and the first lady were you know
very gracious to us and treated my family like
a million bucks and uh and you know he was late
because of uh an engagement obviously the president
was busy And so we got to just kind of wander
around the White House unsupervised for a few
hours, which my daughter took full advantage
of. Yeah, she's got selfies and probably, you
know, maybe a White House ashtray in her purse
at that point. Yeah. This is a really neat sword.
It's George Washington's sword. So I want to
talk about, you used this word earlier, so I'm
going to bring it back to you. And you said,
Hey, I was terrified to wear the Medal of Honor.
That continues to kind of roll around in your
brain until it probably becomes a bigger deal,
and when they finally put the medal on you, where
were you in that process? Were you still terrified,
asking yourself, do I measure up, just like you
asked yourself when you jumped into the Marines?
I mean, I still do. You know, there's a Medal
of Honor Society. And we have a convention at
least once a year. And every time I walk into
that room with the other recipients, it's always
stunning to me that I belong in there with them.
I think the medal, it's definitely one of those
things. My actions in 2013 got me nominated for
it. You feel compelled to earn that thing every
day. One of the things, once you have been bestowed
this honor, it's sort of like a knighthood I
think. Everybody looks at you differently and
I know that you were a former student athlete
in high school. You have an opportunity to talk
to a lot of young men and women because of this
honor. Tell us how you wear This responsibility
on a daily basis So I always try to be I try
to be a good steward of the profession the profession
of arms I Served for you know 24 years 11 months
and I was I was proud the day I put on the uniform
and it was just as proud the day I took it off
and And I think the country is worth fighting
for it and worth sacrificing for and and the
only thing I can do at this point serve as a
role model for people to emulate that behavior
and you know I like to educate that you build
the country the country doesn't build you and
and you don't need a uniform to serve the country
so if something needs fixing don't look around
for somebody else to do it you know roll your
sleeves up get your hands dirty and solve the
problem and make your country a better place
Earl one of the things I've seen you say in the
press before is about the importance of a positive
mentor Can you can you elaborate on that both
in your own life, but but as importantly for
our younger generation Yeah, I mean a positive
role model or mentor you find somebody that you
want you want to emulate somebody you want to
be and They've already made all the mistakes.
They can explain how things work, what to expect,
and how to do the job better. And a role model
and a mentor, if they're genuine, should always
want to see you surpass them. And once you get
one, it's such a rewarding experience to be on
either side of that relationship. I always feel
sad for somebody that never had a mentor to kind
of help them figure out the best way to get to
where they're going. And then for also, you know,
if you've mastered a profession and you really
don't get to go hands -on with someone and make
them the best person that they could be, that's
its own reward that you're missing out on. You've
also made, and we're talking to Master Sergeant
Earl Plumlee, retired Medal of Honor recipient.
You've also talked about the role the National
Guard plays in bridging the gap between the military
and civilian worlds, and in a time where patriotism
seems to wane, recruiting seems to be down, talk
to us about the importance of bridging that gap.
So the National Guard is just such a great touch
point for the federal government, the state government,
and the civilian population. They truly are the
bridge. When you see somebody in uniform, you
kind of understand what they are. But a National
Guardsman, that's somebody from your community
that has chosen to take time out of their life
to be there. And in Oklahoma, every time there's
a national disaster, a tornado, one of the first
things that happens is they activate the National
Guard and get them out there to help those communities
recover. And I think it's important. That's something
that the country owes you, and that's something
as a people we owe the country is to be that
person that says, I know it's not safe yet, but
I'm going to go out there and make it a little
bit better. We want to thank Master Sergeant
Earl Plumlee, retired from the United States
Army, Medal of Honor recipient for taking some
time to talk to Veterans Radio today. These are
always interesting stories when you hear from
Medal of Honor recipients. So we hope you're
enjoying this as much as we are and talking to
these gentlemen. We're gonna bring you another
story right after some words from our sponsor.
Military veterans touch everyone's life. I'm
guessing right now you're thinking of a veteran,
a close friend, relative. Maybe it's you. Even
the toughest of us sometimes need help but don't
know where to turn for support. You don't need
special training to help a veteran in your life.
We can all help someone going through a difficult
time. Learn how you can be there for veterans.
Visit veteranscrisisline .net. Veteranscrisisline
.net. A message from the U .S. Department of
Veterans Affairs. If you have a VA claim denied
by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal
Help for Veterans at 1 -800 -693 -4800. They're
experts in handling cases before the U .S. Court
of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Their number
again, 1 -800 -693 -4800. Continuing the theme
of the US Army and all that it does We're gonna
follow up the Earl Plumlee Master Sergeant US
Army Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee with an interview
we did with Brigadier General Dick Miller retired
talking though about a USA We want to welcome
to veterans radio today Brigadier General Richard
S Miller retired Dick Miller's of friend of Veterans
Radio and has his multiple hats that he wears
that bumps him into our orbit. He is the president
of NVBDC, the nation's leader in certifying veteran
-owned businesses. But we're having Dick on today
to talk a little bit about his military career
and his position as president of AUSA Region
Two. Dick, welcome back to Veterans Radio. Well,
thank you. Good morning. Well, let's start with
this. How does a nice kid from Shelbyville, Indiana
end up spending his career in the Army? And,
you know, did you have to do this because a judge
chased you into it or what? How'd this happen?
You know, it's funny as you and I are both of
the era where I know a guy actually that that
happened to you. You got a choice, young man.
But no, I end up I graduated from school in 1970
and had no future. I mean, I was, I didn't have
the grades to go to college. I didn't want to
work in a factory and the army was a good option
for me. And so I joined and which was rare back
in 1970 and spent two years was actually stationed
in Germany. Surprising. I didn't get to go to
Vietnam, but got out, went to school, and then
in 1980, I walked in an Army recruiter and said,
I want to join, rejoin, and I'd like to go to
OCS. And from Officer Ken at school to Brigadier
General is quite a climb. uh... along the way
you picked up uh... you were bachelor's degree
from indiana university in a master's degree
from u .s. war college uh... and you've had assignments
all over the world uh... right uh... while germany
was the first nice uh... country they sent you
to they found a way to send you to the sandbox
a couple of times as well to balance that out
you know it's funny about that is every every
assignment i had after that was not a very nice
place You know from the jungles of South America
to you know Anyway, I end up in Afghanistan.
I commanded all of southern Afghanistan out of
Kandahar and That was a nice place But anyway,
yeah, I was very very lucky I was every assignment
I had was a command assignment which helped develop
me for the next assignment and After Afghanistan,
I was a Deputy Chief of Staff for the 38th Infantry
Division, and then ultimately became the Deputy
Commanding General. And you spent, I think, your
final tour, if you will, with the Indiana Army
National Guard? That's correct. I was a Deputy
Commanding General of the 38th Infantry Division.
We had 14 ,000 14 ,100, roughly, in that area.
Well, I might not have the math right, but it
looks like you spent about, what, 34 years or
something in one way or another in the Army?
33. 33, okay, and along the way picked up all
the sort of awards and decks that one might expect,
from Combat Infantry Badge up to the Bronze Star,
Meritorious Service Medal. campaign medals for
Afghanistan, global war on terrorism, army accommodation
medals. All of that's just to sort of set you
up for, I don't know, are we on chapter three
or four of post -retirement, military retirement
here? And your wife is saying, I kicked them
out of that kitchen to get. go do something.
I didn't know it was going to end up like this.
You spent a number of years working, I'm sure,
in a volunteer position initially with AUSA.
Tell us about AUSA, the Association of the United
States Army. Well, much like my military career,
I started off with the Association of the United
States Army as a chapter president. And that
was a chapter in Indiana, of all things. And
it's a very, very large, there are 1 .8 million
members of the association. And as a chapter,
I think I had 256 people in the local chapter
in Indianapolis. And then they had one in South
Bend, Indiana. And then I was transferred to
Michigan for a job change in 1984. And immediately
was asked to join the chapter in Detroit. And
that's kind of where I've been ever since. But
just, this is an organization, just for those
who are not aware, that lobbies on behalf of
the United States Army. The Army themselves cannot
lobby Congress for anything. It's against the
law. But we have very, very strong bonds with
Congress and the Senate. And that's what we do.
Not me personally, but we all. within that organization.
But it is a volunteer organization, primarily.
And just like me, most of these folks that serve,
they serve because they want to serve their country,
and they want to serve their army. Well, it's
a really inspiring story when you look at AUSA's
history. And it's a nonprofit educational and
professional development association that serves
not only today's total army, active duty soldiers,
reservists, National Guard, veterans, retirees,
army civilians, and their families. It's that
unique voice because of those 1 .8 million members
who have affiliation with the US Army that you
have sort of some clout on Lobbying or expressing
hey, how do we help the troops and that's really
the goal, isn't it? It is the soldiers and their
families and You know and by the way the families
have come into recognition the last 15 years
or so. People understand that if the soldiers
aren't happy and the families aren't happy, you
know, it affects their performance. The region
that I'm in, or the president of this second
region, we have 415 ,000 members across Washington
DC, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio,
Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. So when
we go visit the Hill and we want to go see those
congressmen and senators, when you have 415 ,000
members, they tend to pay attention to you. And
is this all on like national defense policy issues
or is it troop pay or mental health? What issues
does AUSA advocate for? It's all the above. And,
you know, as a matter of fact, we were just now
developing our 2025 focus areas. But if you look
at it, it's readiness, it's training, it's National
Guard state partnership programs, it's army families,
civilians, survivors, caregivers. It's anything
having to do with the soldier and their family.
And housing is a big thing right now. there's
a lot of criticisms some of the facility you
know facilities are run down and uh personnel
pay in benefits uh health care housing child
care uh education army civilians which by the
way there are thousands upon thousands of army
civilians there you take detroit right that tarp
tarnek up there the vast majority of the people
on that base are civilians It's really interesting
because a lot of these issues are things which
the families or the troops might be reluctant
to talk about Up the chain of command worrying
about impacts maybe on careers But as a USA can
say hey this base housing has mold, or these
kind of problems, or you're not putting enough
money into cleaning up environmental issues on
base, or educational funding for the schools
that the Army runs is slipping. We've got to
pull those services up. So it gives people another
way to advocate for, I guess I'd call them, sensitive
issues? Yes. Some of it's just basic day -to
-day kind of stuff. But the other part of it
is just that. The soldier out there, just a normal
soldier, is not likely going to be bringing that
stuff up. Now, the AUSA, for example, Fort Knox
is one of mine. I'll go down and meet with the
commanding general at Fort Knox, and we'll discuss
things. And by the way, not everything's contentious.
Some of it's just basic stuff. Absolutely. What
you're able to do at AUSA is be supportive of
issues that the Army wants advanced. Yep. And
then one of the big things right now, I miss
in Fort Knox, is what you call food insecurity.
You know, that's the big bullet item this year
is food insecurity. There are a lot of these
youngsters out there that, you know, the pay
isn't that great. It's not bad, but it's not
that great. And then all of a sudden, the guy's
got a wife, couple kids, and can't barely make
ends meet. And so we're putting together a really
sophisticated program for food insecurity. You
got to identify them first, because a lot of
these folks are embarrassed. They don't want
to talk about it. Certainly, yeah. But that's
where, for example, at Fort Knox, we have a partnership
with Denny's. Denny's is a restaurant chain.
We worked with Denny's down at Fort Knox last
November. They brought in their mobile kitchen
and we fed 900 soldiers in a single day or actually
single morning and then we gave 250 meals to
the Red Cross on post. So those are some of the
kind of things that the AUSA does. Well that
again those are the sorts of things that I think
people don't you know It all happens quietly
in the background and the mobile kitchen shows
up and nobody's paying attention to how that
happened or why that happened So getting the
word out like this is really important Tell us
about your region to and you've told us the The
states involved in region 2 for ASU how many
regions are there and and what does being president
of? region to deal with on a national basis Well,
we have nine regions, and we have a Pacific region,
that's Alaska, Guam, et cetera, and then European
region, which is Africa, Canada, Europe, Middle
East, and then we have a seventh, which is out
west, Scotland, California is its own region,
and then fifth region, Illinois, there's a lot
of We're gonna be looking at realigning this
stuff because some of these things just don't
make any sense from a geographic standpoint But
now do each do each of the region presidents
then sit on a national board. Is there a national
governing body? How does that work? Yes, each
of the regions We have a seat on the board of
directors at the national level and we attend
meetings Virtually most most of time virtually
And then once a year we have an in -person. But
yeah, we all get together and we all talk about
the major issues affecting our soldiers. And
we actually do speaking engagements. We promote
and enhance the associations, goals and objectives,
all that sort of thing. I spoke at Western Michigan's
ROTC program. a week ago Friday. Those are the
kind of things that we try to support the overall
Army. Well, part of this too is just to get the
word out to members, families. Hey, there's somebody
who's got your back. Tons of resources are available
on the AUSA website. which is simply AUSA .org.
Correct. And I noticed that like it has an annual
meeting and the 2025 one is going to be October.
in Washington DC of 2025. So lots of ways to
get involved, a lot of professional development
opportunities, which is really interesting. And
I also found it interesting. Part of this is
AUSAs focused on the total army. So there's no
distinction here about, oh, you were National
Guard, or you were a reservist, or you were active
duty. And that cohesiveness is really important,
isn't it? It is absolutely because you know the
war on terror just brought the the units together
all the app, you know throughout the National
Guard Army Reserve everybody, you know when you
when you're looking at the 38th Infantry Division
100 % of our soldiers deployed during the war
on terror many of them multiple times. Yeah,
it really changed the way in which national defense
is bolstered by the National Guard and Reserve.
I don't think people fully appreciated that previously.
At one point, the 38th Infantry Division, the
only organization that had more combat infantry
badges was the 101st Airborne. The 38th was second.
Well, that talks about the number of tours that
it had to endure during that period. I do notice
that there is a area for military families to
get information on how you see. helps in that
regard, so I'd certainly direct people to that.
And I also see that AUSA gives out scholarships,
which is something that families are always interested
in as they're trying to get kids maybe through
college and possibly that's also through a trade
school, that sort of thing. Tell us about those
kind of hidden programs that AUSA does, Dick,
that people might not know about. Well, as you
said, the military families is a big one. and
the military families with scholarships and all
these sorts of things. They have a woman named
Holly Daly that runs the family programs and
they have stuff going on all the time. You know,
training events, forums, events, family resources.
They have, they'll, you know, if a local area
wants her to come out with her team, they'll
be happy to do it. Health and wellness. The big
thing is military spouse career and employment.
Helping a spouse become qualified to be able
to, for example, help write a resume. Now, the
other big thing for families is financial readiness.
There's a lot of folks out there that are, especially
the young ones, are shy about asking for help,
and they may need somebody to help them. Matter
of fact, I know for a fact it was one of the
things helping a young lady balance a checkbook,
if you will. The Child Education Coalition, there's
a number of things that a soldier can reach out,
and EUSA's got something for them. Yeah, the
financial readiness seems so simple, but we've
all been in service with somebody who, this is
the first time in their life they got a paycheck
with some money and they... Spend it like drunken
sailors. Speaking of myself. And it's only later
that you said, I should have put a little bit
of that away because there's a time when this
ends and I got to go do something else. But again,
it can be as simple as I've never managed money
before. I've never had a checkbook before. So
those kind of programs are really helpful to
the young army officer. Well, one of the other
things that AUSA does well is they support children
education. The military educational system is
pretty good. For example, I was, again, Fort
Knox, their high school is, by comparison, as
good as any outside the military. And they take
it serious. So there's a lot of stuff that the
USA does. You mentioned our annual event is in
October. For those who don't know, Every defense
contractor worldwide comes to this thing. It's
in the Convention Center downtown Detroit, or
downtown Detroit, downtown Washington, D .C.
On average, there's 30 ,000 people a day come
through this thing. Holy cow. Yeah, it's huge.
And we hold our annual meetings. We have a, you
know, like the regions, we all get together,
we meet and. If somebody's in one of these chapters
or regions and again if you go to the website
you can find a chapter near you Right How does
one say hey, you know what I should be involved
in this? How do I become a member of a USA and
get involved? Well, you can go out to the for
example like second region you can just go out
to the second region Area or for example Detroit.
There's the arsenal of democracy chapter and
you can reach the chapters and Then just call
them up and say or email text doesn't matter.
So look I really want to become a member of this.
What do I got to do? They're always looking for
volunteers Well, it's like most of life right
dick the more you put into it the more you get
out of it, right is is you Move forward here.
You're probably seeing the insides of the organization
a little bit. We mentioned at the outset. It's
a nonprofit So how does a USA get funded? Well,
primarily corporate sponsors and That's what
you'd expect a little bit probably comes from
membership dues and signing up for events Correct
and paying paying going to the annual meetings
and those sorts of things But it's when you well
as a matter of fact, the annual meeting is a
big big opportunity to gain Uh, funding, but
when you're looking at, uh, general dynamics,
you're looking at, uh, McDonnell Douglas and,
you know, these major corporations, it's there.
Keep in mind, we're a lobbying organization for
Congress. And so they want to make sure that
we represent them as well. Oh, certainly. Yeah.
That makes sense on weapons systems and things
like that. Uh, and the, uh, uh, funding of programs.
So We're talking to Dick Miller. He's the president
of AUSA Region 2. He sits on the National Board
and he's giving us some insights into what AUSA
does and why it does it. Dick, any final comments
here that you'd like to make to our veteran radio
listeners? Well, like I said, the AUSA is an
organization supporting our soldiers, their families,
pay, you know, health care, all of those things.
That support the United States Army very complex
program professional development, I mean, you
know meetings and events publications by the
way, they put out a really nice magazine every
month, but nope USA is a long -term Done a wonderful
wonderful job supporting our soldiers and will
hopefully continue So I'm gonna direct people
to a USA org hit the about us Click on button
there, it'll show you where you can jump over
to join AUSA. I think you'd find it very beneficial
if you want to continue your service to the country
and service to the United States Army by being
supportive. Dick, General Miller, we appreciate
the time that you've made available for Veterans
Radio today to talk about AUSA. Well, thank you
again and look forward to working with you in
the future. So for all our Army friends out there,
take a look at AUSA .org, see if it's right for
you to maybe be an organization that you support,
both with time and resources. They do good work.
They also keep you pretty well informed of what's
going on. And he mentioned their magazine that
they put out every month. It is very informative.
So if you're just a curious person, you may want
to look at that as well. On Veterans Radio, we
really do try to bring you a wide range of stories
that we think will be of interest. But if there's
something we're not touching upon, and you want
more information or you've got an idea of somebody
we should talk to, let us know. We're more than
glad to track down people. These are pretty turbulent
times and it's been a challenge sometimes for
us to find guests who are willing to talk about
what's going on in the veterans world. They don't
want to get crosswise with the administration
or anything like that. So we're always looking
for ideas and folks who are willing to step up
and speak out about their own military experiences,
maybe their experiences through transition. But
just the general history and stories that veterans
have to tell, there's always a lot of them. They
don't have to be the war stories, they may be
stories about business success. or failure, you'll
earn sometimes more by your failures than you
do by your successes. And so we bring those stories
to you as well. And that's why we appreciate
business sponsors like the National Veterans
Business Development Council, nvbdc .org, and
puroclean .com. puroclean is the paramedics of
property damage. And they've got a lot of veterans
in the business and veteran franchisees and we
get a chance to talk to them on a fairly regular
basis as well. So your story ideas are always
important. I do want to thank some of our sponsors
again, certainly the VA Ann Arbor Health Care
System, the National Vietnam Veterans of America.
the VVA Charles S. Kettles chapter, VFW Graf
O 'Hara post, American Legion post 46, all three
of those in Ann Arbor. They've been long -term
supporters of the work that Dale and company
have been doing. One of the new things we're
doing here on Veterans Radio that I want to promote
as we have a little time is to recognize that
we're on a new platform along with putting our
podcasts out on all the, you know, regular platforms
through an RSS .com feed, but also to iTunes
and YouTube podcasts, Stitcher, etc. We are now
on Reeves Across America Radio and that platform
is an aggregator of a lot of veteran type programming.
So if you like this kind of programming, we encourage
you to go to readsacrossedamerica .org. Go to
their radio section. You may know of this organization.
These are the folks who go ahead and collect
donations and make arrangements to put Evergreen
Reese. on graves started at Arlington National
Cemetery, but really has spread out to most of
the states at this point. They do that in the
Christmas holiday season. And we're really proud
to be on their programming now. So if you want
to check them out, please do so. Our broadcasts
are Thursday at 3 p .m. Eastern. and also on
Friday night at 7 p .m. The podcasts go up there
as well. So we get a little more expansion of
our network here from Veterans Radio, being able
to tell these stories to a wider audience. And
that's just really an honor and a pleasure. I
can't tell you how much Dale and I really appreciate
that. So it's one of those places you can check
this out at your leisure. It's not unlike the,
if you just want to focus on Veterans Radio,
and we certainly don't mind if you do that, you
can go to veteransradio .org and check everything
out, or enter Facebook page for Veterans Radio.
A lot of information being posted there as well.
We have one big fundraiser every year called
Radio on the River. We've had it for a number
of years at the same location. But we're going
to try something new this year in the greater
Ann Arbor area, a place called Freedom River
up in Livingston County. We think it'll be a
very interesting and different opportunity to
gather and support Veterans Radio. If you're
in the area, it's going to be Sunday, September
28th, about noon. Keep tuned in for more information.
But if you're not in the area and you want to
support us, you could always buy tickets to that
event or just go to veteransradio .org and click
on the donate button and send us a little something.
And if you're a corporate sponsor and you'd like
to be spotlighted on Veterans Radio like we do
for NVBDC or PuroClean. Reach out to Dale or
myself, Jim Fossone. We'd be glad to talk to
you and see if we can make some arrangement that
is mutually beneficial. Many companies started
by veterans and those that support veterans want
to help get these stories out and we really do
appreciate that kind of support. So looking ahead,
as I said, September 28th, that's a Sunday, Radio
on the River will continue as our main fundraiser.
And if you're an organization out there that
runs a golf outing or luncheons or galas and
you are looking for organizations to support,
think about Veterans Radio. We'd be glad to be
in your rotation of veteran -centric groups that
you support from your own independent fundraising.
That'd be a fantastic opportunity for us and
we'd be glad to talk to you about. How to structure
that, how we can get you some information, how
we can get the stories out in a little better
fashion. As I said a little earlier, these are
kind of interesting times because of the change
in administrations and, you know, kind of how
all that's going to work out for veterans, how
all that's going to work out for the military.
You really can't predict that stuff. You know,
we don't have a crystal ball. We are talking
to various experts in the field hoping that they
can give us a little more clarity. There are
organizations both very pro what's going on and
organizations very concerned about what's going
on. So there really isn't just one vision of
how this will proceed. But the one thing everybody
agrees on is Hey, our veterans have already paid
the price. They already signed the blank check.
We owe them and have to continue with our promise
to them that those who have borne the battle
will take care of as a nation. And that's a little
bit of where we're at at the moment. So if you
get a chance to run into your congressmen and
women, kind of remind them, hey, there was a
promise made. When these kids went overseas they
left their families You know there was there
was a lot of stress and challenges some got injured
physically some mentally some really just Really
gave a lot and we shouldn't turn our back on
them So that's what we do here in veterans radio
tell the story and we want you to come back and
until next time on veterans radio You are dismissed.