WEBVTT 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.980 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:15.140 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:18.739 day. I'm Jim Fausone. I'm the Officer of the Deck 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:21.179 today here on Veterans Radio and thanks for joining 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:24.010 us. We've got some interesting stories for you. 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:26.190 We always want to remind you, you can find more 00:00:26.190 --> 00:00:29.609 about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site or 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:32.810 at the web, veteransradio .org, where we're on 00:00:32.810 --> 00:00:35.990 the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of our podcasts 00:00:35.990 --> 00:00:39.390 there as well. We post new ones every Tuesday, 00:00:39.530 --> 00:00:43.829 so you can get a new story, a new interview, 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:46.869 something you didn't know before by going to 00:00:46.869 --> 00:00:49.689 veteransradio .org. And before we get started, 00:00:49.890 --> 00:00:53.149 we want to thank our sponsors. First up, we want 00:00:53.149 --> 00:00:55.890 to thank National Veteran Business Development 00:00:55.890 --> 00:01:02.590 Council, nvbdc .org. It was established to certify 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.310 both service -disabled and veteran -owned businesses. 00:01:05.629 --> 00:01:07.549 You'll find out how they can help your business 00:01:07.549 --> 00:01:13.430 by going to nvbdc .org. We want to thank Legal 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:17.359 Help for Veterans. Legal Help for Veterans fights 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.219 for veterans disability rights all across the 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:26.519 nation. You can reach them at 800 -693 -4800 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:32.579 or on the web at legalhelpforveterans .com. And 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:36.700 finally, PuroClean. PuroClean is the paramedics 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:39.079 of property damage. It provides water damage 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:42.480 remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:46.200 damage remediation, mold removal, biohazard cleanup. 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:51.480 It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. You 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:54.379 can learn more about them by going to PuroClean 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:58.599 .com. We want to give you a little advance notice. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:02.560 We're going to have a Veterans Radio event on 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:07.700 Sunday, September 28, 2025. Radio on the River. 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:10.870 We're doing a new location on Freedom River in 00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:14.389 Livingston County, Michigan. We want you to save 00:02:14.389 --> 00:02:16.330 the date. We're going to have veteran storytelling 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:18.710 and guest speakers. We'll have raffle items, 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:23.569 great local musicians and food. Also, uniquely, 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:25.870 there's going to be an opportunity to fly in 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:29.030 a UH -1 Huey for the Michigan Flight Museum. 00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:32.229 And maybe you can also win a free ride that way. 00:02:33.189 --> 00:02:37.310 Plan on supporting Veterans Radio either by buying 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:41.069 tickets or sponsoring Radio on the River. Contact 00:02:41.069 --> 00:02:47.189 us at dale at veteransradio .org or jim at veteransradio 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:49.770 .org to get more information, but we'd love to 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:52.210 have you come out and we'd certainly love to 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:58.139 have you sponsor. We want to welcome to Veterans 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:01.159 Radio today, the president of the Call of Duty 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:05.000 Endowment, Dan Goldenberg. Dan, welcome to Veterans 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.719 Radio. Thanks so much for having me. Well, let 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.319 me set this up a little bit because first I should 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:15.060 probably acknowledge that you are a retired Navy 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:18.819 captain who brings 27 years of active and reserve 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:22.219 military service to the table here, as well as 00:03:22.219 --> 00:03:25.650 more than a decade of business experience. And 00:03:25.650 --> 00:03:29.590 you are now the president and have been since, 00:03:29.590 --> 00:03:33.770 oh, it's been 12 years or something, call of 00:03:33.770 --> 00:03:37.770 duty endowment. So let's start with this. How 00:03:37.770 --> 00:03:39.909 did a nice kid like you end up at the United 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:44.250 States Naval Academy and in the Navy for a career 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:47.110 with some educational stops along the way at 00:03:47.110 --> 00:03:51.250 Harvard and MIT and the Air Command and Staff 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:54.310 College? But how'd you get started in this mess? 00:03:55.279 --> 00:03:58.580 Yeah well it's funny I grew up in New York probably 00:03:58.580 --> 00:04:02.099 about 10 miles from West Point and my dad was 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:05.860 actually had been in the army so you know after 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:08.080 realizing the West Pointers were stealing all 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.439 the the best girls from my high school I couldn't 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.020 go to West Point and keep my self -respect so 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:18.379 I had to go to Navy and no it's just you know 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:21.350 there were a lot of things pushing me that way, 00:04:21.689 --> 00:04:24.350 but the opportunities of the Navy. I wanted to 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:26.910 be an astronaut. It seemed like the best place 00:04:26.910 --> 00:04:29.709 to go for that. Didn't quite work out, but I 00:04:29.709 --> 00:04:33.009 had a lot of fun along the way in the astronaut 00:04:33.009 --> 00:04:36.930 attempt. But, you know, it was just a wonderful 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:39.550 experience. I always thought the Navy just offered 00:04:39.550 --> 00:04:41.589 the most options, and it's true. I got to do 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:44.720 many, many interesting things. Don't regret a 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.639 day of my service. Well, your military highlights 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:51.259 include four tours as a commanding officer, a 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:54.660 carrier -based naval flight officer, special 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:57.699 assistant to four secretaries of the Navy. I 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:00.699 mean, you had a great career, but you're now 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:03.240 in a really, and have been for a dozen years 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:08.079 now, a really interesting opportunity. What is 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:12.720 the call of duty endowment? Yeah, so we didn't 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.600 set out to be this, but we have become the largest 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.319 funder of veteran employment in the country, 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:21.000 in the U .S. and probably in the U .K. as well. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:26.660 What happened was, back in 2007, Bobby Codick, 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:31.100 who was the CEO of Activision Blizzard, had noticed 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:35.120 that Call of Duty had rapidly become the company's 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.040 flagship product, if you will, and it did and 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.620 continues to do really well today. And he wanted 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:44.720 to find a way to meaningfully give back to the 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.339 community that inspired it, the veteran community, 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.680 the military community. And Bobby was very into 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.600 the arts, still is. And he approached the Secretary 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:56.759 of the VA at the time, a gentleman by the name 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:59.620 of Jim Nicholson. And he said, Jim, I'd like 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.279 to create an art facility for veterans on the 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.339 West LA VA campus. And if you ever met Jim, Jim 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:07.980 said something effective, Bobby, vets don't need 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:10.120 freaking free art, they need jobs. He didn't 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:15.009 use the word freaking. And I think like to most 00:06:15.009 --> 00:06:16.430 people that would have been a turn off with the 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:19.290 Bobby that was a challenge accepted moment. And 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:20.730 because the, you know, a lot of the corporate 00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:23.529 efforts, a lot of the government, all the government 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.430 efforts and most of the philanthropic efforts 00:06:26.430 --> 00:06:28.370 were failing in that regard. They weren't, not 00:06:28.370 --> 00:06:30.269 only were they not getting vets and jobs, they 00:06:30.269 --> 00:06:32.490 weren't getting them the high quality jobs, which 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:35.550 really matters a ton. So the notion was we could 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:39.329 take a private sector approach to this really, 00:06:39.329 --> 00:06:42.500 you know, tough problem to solve and maybe get 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:45.160 better results. And for the first four years, 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:48.300 we did not. We did what a lot of companies did, 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:52.000 which is write big checks, provide the big cardboard 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.819 check recipient moment, you know, photo op and 00:06:55.819 --> 00:06:59.339 then the difference was nothing happened. I said 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:02.160 four years, really three years of that. And in 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.509 fact, across that time, you know, our cost per 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:07.389 placement was about the same as the Department 00:07:07.389 --> 00:07:09.870 of Labor's and we'd only placed about a thousand 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:12.930 veterans and jobs. So. the board of the endowment 00:07:12.930 --> 00:07:15.050 was very dissatisfied and they said look there's 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:16.949 got to be a better way to do this and they looked 00:07:16.949 --> 00:07:19.470 for someone that someone ended up being me a 00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:22.490 veteran with business experience to come in and 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:24.470 see if we can create a better model so we created 00:07:24.470 --> 00:07:28.029 a model we co we collaborated with Deloitte to 00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:30.569 create this model to find the highest performing 00:07:30.569 --> 00:07:33.430 non -profits out of the tens of thousands of 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:36.069 veteran non -profits that exist to fund them 00:07:36.069 --> 00:07:38.610 coach them and help them grow and that model 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:41.129 is called the seal of distinction and ultimately 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.740 once we implemented it, it led us to place 150 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:47.959 ,000 veterans and jobs. And last year, we did 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:52.079 it cost one 15th that of the Department of Labor. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:55.920 So yeah, I mean, that's kind of how it how it 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:58.639 started. And it continues to run really well. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:01.379 It's all about, you know, the vetting model. 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:04.000 the finding the high performers and then the 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.980 accountability model that's also part of what 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.939 we do to ensure they deliver results for veterans 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:12.439 well not just numbers but quality yeah let me 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:14.800 let me dig deeper into those numbers because 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:19.060 i want to know how is it that you've uh the organization 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:23.500 has been able to assist in placing 150 000 vets 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:27.449 in high quality jobs Yeah. So, you know, once 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:30.410 we've identified through, we have this vetting 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:32.330 model. It's real simple. It's about a page and 00:08:32.330 --> 00:08:34.490 a quarter of information from organizations. 00:08:35.549 --> 00:08:37.830 So we plug that into our skill distinction model. 00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:41.590 We have an outside board of advisors who assess 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:45.009 the responses. We usually pick the best five 00:08:45.009 --> 00:08:48.429 to 10. And then we hand them over, for years, 00:08:48.590 --> 00:08:50.899 we handed them over to Deloitte. Deloitte would 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:54.659 then do an assessment as one non -profit called 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:56.899 it the business equivalent of a proctology exam 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:02.299 to really understand can these organizations 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:04.799 deliver, can they be trusted, we'd look at. you 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.620 know, do their performance metrics ring true? 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.879 Can we prove that they are in fact accurate? 00:09:11.460 --> 00:09:14.100 Background checks on their key employees. We 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:17.299 do a historical current and future financial 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:19.399 health check, and we do what's called a policies 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:21.940 and procedures check. So those four things add 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:24.700 up to our assessment of these organizations. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.320 If they come back green on all four areas, then 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:30.480 it goes to our board for approval. If that happens, 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:34.429 we give them a $30 ,000 unrestricted grant as 00:09:34.429 --> 00:09:37.350 an award, but more importantly, opportunity to 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:40.070 get a much larger restricted grant. And our average 00:09:40.070 --> 00:09:42.690 grant size is probably about $800 ,000 a year 00:09:42.690 --> 00:09:47.549 per organization. So big opportunity. They in 00:09:47.549 --> 00:09:51.490 turn commit to certain placement goals and we 00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:53.409 monitor them quarterly. And if they're hitting 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:55.950 them, fantastic. If they're not, we have a conversation 00:09:55.950 --> 00:09:59.409 to understand why not to try and diagnose. And 00:09:59.409 --> 00:10:02.190 if we can, coach them to get back on track. or 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:04.110 provide them with the necessary resources, whatever 00:10:04.110 --> 00:10:06.929 it may be. If they can get back on track and 00:10:06.929 --> 00:10:09.090 hit the goal, great. If they can't, we move on 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:11.350 and we work with someone else. So you really, 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:15.929 if I understand it, Dan, then what the Call of 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:20.470 Duty Endowment is doing, it is focusing on? Not 00:10:20.470 --> 00:10:23.629 exactly, no. It's actually the nonprofits that 00:10:23.629 --> 00:10:27.889 do the placement work. So you're partially correct 00:10:27.889 --> 00:10:30.559 in the sense that We also work on, if you will, 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:32.980 the supply and the demand side, the supply of 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:35.639 job -ready vets. We vet those nonprofits through 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:40.340 our sealed distinction process that will do the 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:43.139 counseling, the resume creation, the interview 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:46.480 practice to get vets ready, the supply of job 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.860 -ready veterans. And then that's where most of 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:50.580 our funding goes. We also work on the demand 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.559 side. And we can talk about that more if you 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:57.799 like, about encouraging companies to make high 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.620 -fit placements with veterans. But most of our 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:03.700 work is actually on the nonprofit side, the counseling 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:06.480 services for veterans. That's where the almost 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:08.820 $100 million that we've put against the problem 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:13.019 goes. So you're funding the nonprofits who are 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:17.539 helping the vets make that transition. Yeah, 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:20.159 and it makes a huge difference like accountability 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:23.460 drives performance at the end of the day Yeah, 00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:25.879 and you know we see you know the organization 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:28.360 we find over time. We're very quantitatively 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.419 focused but qualitatively We've seen these are 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:33.440 the organizations who stick around and our average 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.100 grantees probably been with us for about eight 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:38.320 years So it's not like returning over the participants 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.080 a lot. Most of them at this point are really 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.720 hitting their commitments But they're committed 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:47.120 to constant improvement They're open to new ideas 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.000 and changing how they do business. They're very 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.779 adaptable. And by the way, these are all things 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:54.600 the federal government's programs are not. And 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:58.659 that's a huge, huge difference between this nonprofit 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:00.039 approach and the federal government approach. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.620 Like the Department of Labor's veteran employment 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:06.120 program gets the same money pretty much every 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:08.379 year, despite the fact that performance generally 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:10.899 declines, right? That's not okay. Our model is 00:12:10.899 --> 00:12:14.809 all about accountability. And can you give us 00:12:14.809 --> 00:12:17.529 an example of a non -profit organization that 00:12:17.529 --> 00:12:20.029 you've been working with and so you can help 00:12:20.029 --> 00:12:23.429 us visualize like how does this work? Absolutely. 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:26.049 So we have 10 grantees we work with right now, 00:12:26.210 --> 00:12:30.009 eight in the US, two in the UK. I'll give you, 00:12:30.490 --> 00:12:34.389 we are ready to serve the whole spectrum of veterans 00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:37.190 and transitioning service members. Guard and 00:12:37.190 --> 00:12:40.649 Reserves. Just one thing we do not fund, we don't 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:43.009 fund military spouse placement. It's just so 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:45.250 we stay focused. It's an incredibly important 00:12:45.250 --> 00:12:48.590 and worthy area, but it's not what we do. Many 00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:50.690 of our grantees do help with military spouse 00:12:50.690 --> 00:12:54.740 employment. We just don't fund that. An example 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:57.639 would be vet jobs. They're exceptional. They 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.740 work with a large number of transitory service 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:03.100 members, veterans, and guardsmen and reserves. 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.019 They're particularly, the particular area of 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.200 expertise, you know, they'll have anyone that 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:11.179 is with the garden reserve. They have very deep 00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:13.960 relationships and memos of understanding with 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.879 many state guard bureaus and all the reserve 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.500 branches. They're excellent and they get tremendous 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:21.200 outcomes. Whereas you contrast that with, say, 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:26.460 JVSO Cal, they're focused on really eye -bearer 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:28.840 to employment veterans in Southern California. 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:30.940 These are folks who may have challenges with 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:33.539 mental health, addiction, criminal records, those 00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:37.100 kind of things. Across the board, almost 90 % 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:39.419 of those we place were enlisted when they left 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:42.639 the service. So we're not cherry picking junior 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.440 officers. If a junior officer approaches one 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.059 of our organizations for help, they'll get it, 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:50.440 absolutely. But our focus is helping, you know, 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:54.419 like our key constituent is that E -4, E -5 coming 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:55.820 out of the military, right? They're the ones 00:13:55.820 --> 00:13:57.919 who tend to need the most help. They also have 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.980 a long runway career -wise ahead of them where 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:03.220 they can benefit from these services. Yeah, the 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.039 enlisted folk, good. don't have the, sometimes 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:08.419 the education and certainly not the network, 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:12.059 the business network. And thereby transitioning 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:16.120 is so much harder and they need more help. Have 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:20.200 you found over the dozen years or so that this 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:25.720 approach is reaching more people? Or is it because 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.639 we've finally ended the war in Afghanistan, you're 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:33.960 starting to see that maybe the the supply here 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:39.080 of transitioning people is less. No, it's unrelenting. 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:42.059 The need is, if anything, it's growing. And I 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:46.980 think, look, we transition 200 to 250 ,000 folks 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:49.639 out of the military every year, rain or shine, 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:53.080 right? So the need is unrelenting. The market, 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:56.259 the job market we're sending them into is constantly 00:14:56.259 --> 00:14:58.659 evolving. And unfortunately, government programs 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:03.419 like TAP are not adapting. to those needs. And 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:08.480 so, you know, if TAP was doing its job, if the 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.019 military did as good a job transitioning service 00:15:11.019 --> 00:15:13.960 members as it does making them, there wouldn't 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:16.960 be a need for us or our grantees. But unfortunately, 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.000 that's not the case. You know, you bring 100 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:23.049 soldiers into a classroom, with one facilitator 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:25.769 who maybe a month ago was wearing a uniform themselves, 00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:28.590 they're not getting the customized counseling 00:15:28.590 --> 00:15:31.669 services they need. You really, as a service 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:35.009 member, in almost every case, need help. And 00:15:35.009 --> 00:15:36.610 by getting help, even if you don't think you 00:15:36.610 --> 00:15:38.710 need it, you'll probably get the better outcomes. 00:15:39.110 --> 00:15:42.139 We know, for instance, that if you can help professional 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:45.759 help with two things resume creation and interview 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.460 practice you're three times more likely to get 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:51.120 a high quality job that's not our data that's 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.679 penn state's veterans metrics initiatives data 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:58.120 um like you need whether you know it or not you 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.620 need help with resume slash linkedin profile 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:03.460 creation and interview job practice you get those 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:05.200 two there are other many other things that go 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.580 into the equation but those two things really 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:09.940 move the dial and our grantees are superb at 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.379 it And the other thing I'll say is, no service 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:15.159 member should ever pay for these services. That's 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:19.379 our job. We do that. Yeah, it's an incredible 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:22.840 organization, Call of Duty Foundation Endowment, 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:24.879 and what you're able to do because of the support 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.259 of Activision Blizzard is amazing. And one of 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:29.799 the things you said that I want to highlight, 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:33.039 which is this is sort of customized help, right? 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:38.389 Assistance. grantees, your non -profits in different 00:16:38.389 --> 00:16:41.789 locales probably have different challenges that 00:16:41.789 --> 00:16:44.590 the transitioning service member makes and they 00:16:44.590 --> 00:16:47.029 can adjust to it because they're local. Again, 00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:51.830 a nationwide TAP program or something just probably 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:54.110 isn't nimble enough or on the ground enough to 00:16:54.110 --> 00:16:56.409 really do that. Have you noticed the difference? 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:02.320 Yeah, you're 100 % right. It's the agility, one, 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.700 because they're in local markets. Two, they're 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:09.000 constantly talking with employers. And at this 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.579 point, they've placed in many, many employers, 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.579 they've placed many veterans. So they're constantly 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:17.299 in a feedback loop around the stuff. And here's 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:19.480 the difference between them and, say, the Department 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:23.359 of Labor's programs. They have the ability to 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.640 adjust, right? Whereas the Department of Labor 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:27.900 is under different kinds of constraints. You 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:31.359 know, every congressman probably wants an America's 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.940 Job Center in their district, whether they need 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:36.960 it or not. And it's just a very inflexible architecture, 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.059 right? Like our grantees can redeploy resources, 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:43.559 change the training, change the way they do resumes. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.119 I mean, I'll bet anything the way that our grantees 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.339 are using generative AI right now to help with 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:53.849 this is probably, you know, years ahead of the 00:17:53.849 --> 00:17:56.089 oil price. So I haven't figured out the legalities 00:17:56.089 --> 00:18:00.250 of how to use gen AI yet. It's actually invaluable. 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:03.029 It's just one example. So like their adaptability 00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:05.029 is key and their connection to employers and 00:18:05.029 --> 00:18:08.549 local market makes a huge difference. Well, this 00:18:08.549 --> 00:18:11.970 sort of sets up the next two things I want to 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:15.509 talk about that the endowment's been involved 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:18.970 in that I want you to. talk about and the first 00:18:18.970 --> 00:18:22.789 is using data to measure veterans economic health. 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:26.269 I know this is something that's important to 00:18:26.269 --> 00:18:29.130 the endowment and you've got some solution ideas 00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:33.490 but but that you know actually that terminology 00:18:33.490 --> 00:18:36.809 measuring veterans economic health I don't think 00:18:36.809 --> 00:18:39.869 I've read about that I don't think I've heard 00:18:39.869 --> 00:18:42.410 people interested in it in it in that sort of 00:18:42.410 --> 00:18:45.390 holistic way. How did how did this come about? 00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:48.119 Yeah, I'm so glad you raised that up. Not many 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:49.940 people give me the chance to talk about this 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:52.279 because it's a little wonky, but it's so important. 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.539 We love wonky on Veterans Radio. This is what 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:58.839 our listeners want. They want a little more than 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:01.339 what you get the headlines in the general press, 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:05.789 so please expand. The number that the politicians 00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:09.170 and most of the press focused on is the BLS, 00:19:09.309 --> 00:19:12.049 Bureau of Labor Statistics, number, veteran employment 00:19:12.049 --> 00:19:14.970 number. The problem that the BLS economist told 00:19:14.970 --> 00:19:17.769 me himself is it is a car that had been turned 00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:21.490 into a boat. That number was never intended to 00:19:21.490 --> 00:19:23.690 be used the way it is, and there's a lot of problems 00:19:23.690 --> 00:19:25.609 with it. And if you look at it for months and 00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:27.470 months, it's up and down, it's all over the place. 00:19:28.849 --> 00:19:31.430 It absolutely is a terrible measure of how veterans 00:19:31.430 --> 00:19:34.009 are doing economically for a number of reasons. 00:19:34.630 --> 00:19:38.170 One, the sample they use is not necessarily representative 00:19:38.170 --> 00:19:41.069 of the veteran population. Two, the question, 00:19:41.109 --> 00:19:42.730 and this might be the most important thing to 00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:45.190 ask you that determines the unemployment rate, 00:19:45.529 --> 00:19:48.369 is this. Last week we were paid for work. last 00:19:48.369 --> 00:19:50.029 week where you paid for work. If you answered 00:19:50.029 --> 00:19:52.529 yes, you're considered fully employed. So if 00:19:52.529 --> 00:19:54.470 you mowed your neighbor's lawn for 25 bucks, 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:57.650 employed. Five hours a week, five hours last 00:19:57.650 --> 00:20:00.470 week in Barista, fully employed. Drilled in the 00:20:00.470 --> 00:20:02.869 guard last weekend, but don't have a civilian 00:20:02.869 --> 00:20:05.849 job, fully employed. The other thing is they 00:20:05.849 --> 00:20:09.150 ask you, are you a veteran? If you answer, you 00:20:09.150 --> 00:20:11.309 know, there are many people who've worn the uniform 00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:13.630 who actually are veterans who don't identify 00:20:13.630 --> 00:20:15.789 as veterans. My dad was in the Airborne. To his 00:20:15.789 --> 00:20:18.019 dying day, he said he wasn't a veteran. because 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:20.880 he hadn't been in combat. Combat experience has 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.480 nothing to do with veteran status but you know 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.059 it's it's like for all these reasons it's a terrible 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:30.380 by the way their insights they go to the state 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:33.279 level but that's as far as they go so Like you 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:35.079 can't tell from the government's numbers the 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:37.980 difference between employment in Los Angeles 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:39.799 and employment in San Francisco for veterans. 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:43.079 It's not really actionable. So anyway, the question 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:44.660 is, is there a better way? And the answer is 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:46.779 yes. Well, no, before you get to the answer, 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:51.420 why would it be important to have more accurate 00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:54.529 measure of veteran economic health? Absolutely. 00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:57.890 So, you need something that's real -time, accurate, 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:00.250 and actionable. Real -time, you know, things 00:21:00.250 --> 00:21:02.690 change, right? We need to know within at least 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:05.910 a couple weeks what the situation is for veterans 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:10.690 in the job market. Two, accurate, you know, we're 00:21:10.690 --> 00:21:12.269 going to make investments based off of this, 00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:17.319 so it has to be right. And three, you know actionable 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.759 locally so you know not like down to the zip 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:22.880 code or congressional district level we need 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.180 to know where the need is so we can deploy resources 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:27.380 in the right place and that's one of the problems 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:29.619 with the Department of Labor's resources they 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:31.559 spread the peanut butter across the whole country 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:34.200 whether they needed or not right as opposed to 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:37.640 deploying it to where the need is greatest we 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:40.500 have so anyway that's that's why it's important. 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:43.799 Well I want to expand on that a little bit as 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:47.230 in some of your materials So much of what happens 00:21:47.230 --> 00:21:50.069 to veterans is sort of opinion -based. Well, 00:21:50.069 --> 00:21:52.269 I think they need this, and I feel they should 00:21:52.269 --> 00:21:54.809 have that. What you're trying to do is say, we 00:21:54.809 --> 00:21:57.529 really got to make this data -driven. So when 00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:00.990 we decide issues like, what do we do about employment 00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:03.910 for veterans in this region, or food insecurity, 00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:07.390 or even suicide prevention, you can dig deeper 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:10.569 and find out, hey, here's an anomaly on people 00:22:10.569 --> 00:22:12.690 not being, veterans not being able to work or 00:22:12.690 --> 00:22:15.259 being fully employed. that's impacting these 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:18.240 other policy decisions, but it's data -driven, 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:21.099 not just feelings, right? Oh yeah, absolutely. 00:22:21.140 --> 00:22:23.000 I need to take you on the road with me because 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.500 you said it better than I can say it. That's 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:29.200 exactly correct. And you know, even though the 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.119 number one service, transitioning service member's 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:35.359 request is employment service, less than one 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:38.019 -tenth of 1 % of the federal veteran budget goes 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:40.920 to employment. Less than one -tenth of 1%. So 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:44.339 if you talk about, you know, Deploying government 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:47.079 resources to where they're needed using data. 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:49.799 It's horrifically misaligned right now. And if 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:51.599 you get the full side of that is if you get it 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:54.660 right, if someone quickly gets into a high fit 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:58.359 job coming out of the service or during a period 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:01.700 of unemployment, their dependency on very expensive 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:03.720 other government services like mental health, 00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:07.519 physical health, housing is reduced, right? There's 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.640 a multiplier effect to getting this right. And 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:14.000 no one has tied together that no one say look 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.359 if we just nail employment early in the transition 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.619 process it's actually going to reduce our costs 00:23:18.619 --> 00:23:21.339 elsewhere and free up resources to those who 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:25.019 very badly need them. Yeah too much of the VA 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:27.359 in particular is not focused on doing it right 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.460 the first time because in the end that's the 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:34.400 cheapest best way to go. But I cut you off. You 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.700 said, hey, you know, here's the problem, but 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:40.359 there are some solutions. What does Call of Duty 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:45.579 Endowment think about solutions? One solution 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:49.400 is super cheap and could be done very quickly. 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:51.579 So there's two databases that come into play 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:53.940 here. There's what's called the VADER database, 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:58.559 V -A -D -I -R, which is a list of social security 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:02.099 numbers for all of our veterans. The other database 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.960 is the Social Security Administration's payroll 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.539 database, also by social security numbers. You 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:10.339 correlate, obviously, respecting privacy and 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:12.059 confidentiality within the walls of the government. 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:15.250 You correlate those two. databases, you know, 00:24:15.309 --> 00:24:18.049 the weekly payroll database that anybody who's 00:24:18.049 --> 00:24:21.170 legally employed as part of, and the list of 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:23.049 all veterans. And you actually know what every 00:24:23.049 --> 00:24:25.549 veteran in the country is making down to the 00:24:25.549 --> 00:24:28.549 zip code level every week. And boom, all of a 00:24:28.549 --> 00:24:31.049 sudden, this data exists. It's just correlating 00:24:31.049 --> 00:24:33.920 to data sets. Obviously, again, protecting privacy, 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.220 but rolling this up in aggregate, you could create 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:39.140 a heat map of the whole US showing where the 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:41.200 greatest need is, and it would be near real time. 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:43.740 I mean, it would be at most a month time late, 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:46.740 right? How much better is that than what we have 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:50.359 right now? So solutions which seem simple are 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:55.119 almost always the best. This seems simple. Therefore, 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.859 there must be huge impediments to implementing 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:01.640 such a simple solution. What are they? Well, 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:04.019 that's the crazy thing. Everybody, you know, 00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:06.779 we talked to senators, congressmen, their staffs 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:09.079 about this. Everyone agrees like that's the right 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:12.859 answer. And yet inertia is a powerful thing too. 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:16.079 overcome in the government right so but because 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:18.319 that's the way we've always done it uh which 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:20.259 is the worst like that's an answer the general 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:22.759 commercial sector will get you fired exactly 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:25.400 exactly but in the in the government sector it 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:28.380 preserves your job so um but but it's absolutely 00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:30.460 the right right answer we just need to bring 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:32.900 the right folks together to accomplish it so 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:35.640 i mean they would just unlock so much value by 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:37.180 the way like that's the kind of thing i wish 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:41.220 doja was doing Like this is a no -brainer. Cost 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:45.220 neutral, in fact, cost savings and value enhancer, 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:47.859 and yet it's still not being done. And I have 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:50.440 no pride of ownership. I wish someone within 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:52.400 government would run with us and make it happen, 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:56.140 but it's the right answer. Well, as I said, sometimes 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:58.019 these simple and right answers are the hardest 00:25:58.019 --> 00:26:01.339 ones to implement. We're talking we're talking 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:04.380 to Dan Goldenberg who is the president of call 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:08.059 of duty endowment he was also a retired Navy 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:11.920 captain spent 27 years in service and Another 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.960 decade or so in the business world before coming 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.880 to call of duty endowment where he's been for 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:22.720 a dozen years I Want to switch topics if I can 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:24.859 Dan staying with some of the work that's call 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:29.319 of duty endowments doing But moving to a report 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:33.079 from March of 2025 that you put out, veteran 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:36.819 perceptions, survey results, and policy recommendations. 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:41.019 Tell us what the start of this was. Yeah, so 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:43.240 we partnered with an organization called Mission 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:46.299 Roll Call to do the study in Ipsos. Ipsos is 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:50.859 a big surveying company. Because, honestly, it 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:53.579 actually is a great dovetail from what we were 00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:56.599 talking about previously, which is frustration 00:26:56.599 --> 00:26:59.660 with where the government is spending money. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:01.519 And honestly, I've been very frustrated with 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:04.740 the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:07.460 and their unwillingness to make change, even 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:11.619 though the system continues to fail. And so it 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:16.500 dawned on me that some of the best work being 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:19.079 done in Congress is being done by the Senate 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.759 and House Armed Services committees. And the 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:28.009 question was, is veteran well being a national 00:27:28.009 --> 00:27:30.769 security issue. And if it is, perhaps we could 00:27:30.769 --> 00:27:33.069 get these committees involved in it and we could 00:27:33.069 --> 00:27:35.890 actually get some progress. And so we commissioned 00:27:35.890 --> 00:27:40.240 the study to determine that. You know, like at 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:42.579 a time of historically bad recruiting results. 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:45.920 So there's a study called Jammers, DOD does every 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:48.720 year. They've been doing it since 1983. So for, 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:53.019 you know, 40 plus years, they assess the willingness 00:27:53.019 --> 00:27:56.609 to serve amongst high school students. and of 00:27:56.609 --> 00:27:58.910 their key influencers, teachers, parents, coaches, 00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:02.130 to recommend service. And there's only one time 00:28:02.130 --> 00:28:04.410 in 40 years where this number has been that low, 00:28:04.470 --> 00:28:06.710 and that was during the surge in Iraq when body 00:28:06.710 --> 00:28:10.089 bags were coming on every day, right? It's at 00:28:10.089 --> 00:28:12.109 the lowest level it's been during that period. 00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:16.990 And we want to say, hey, the legacies of 20 years 00:28:16.990 --> 00:28:20.029 of war, as seen through public sentiment about 00:28:20.029 --> 00:28:22.769 our veterans, negatively impacted recruiting 00:28:22.769 --> 00:28:24.630 in an unprecedented way. So in other words, if 00:28:24.630 --> 00:28:27.190 the public thinks bad things happen to you if 00:28:27.190 --> 00:28:29.289 you join the military and become a veteran, is 00:28:29.289 --> 00:28:31.670 that part of the reason, even though it's not 00:28:31.670 --> 00:28:33.970 a reason that DOD has ever cited, is that part 00:28:33.970 --> 00:28:35.529 of the reason we're having a hard time recruiting? 00:28:36.210 --> 00:28:38.569 And unfortunately the answer is yes. That's what 00:28:38.569 --> 00:28:41.650 the study told us. You know, the traditional 00:28:41.650 --> 00:28:44.589 explanations of why recruiting, struggling, you 00:28:44.589 --> 00:28:47.289 know, it's the bad economy, or it's a good economy, 00:28:48.470 --> 00:28:50.769 kids are out of shape, there's a samurai culture, 00:28:50.950 --> 00:28:52.769 we're only sons and daughters of those who serve 00:28:52.769 --> 00:28:55.990 joint, etc. They just something different happening 00:28:55.990 --> 00:28:57.670 here, because as I said, there aren't body bags 00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.369 coming home regularly. So what's going on here? 00:29:00.470 --> 00:29:04.430 And so The bottom line is, we found out that 00:29:04.430 --> 00:29:09.410 67 % of parents and 55 % of the general population 00:29:09.410 --> 00:29:12.869 is unlikely or very unlikely to recommend military 00:29:12.869 --> 00:29:15.829 service. Yeah, these stats out of this survey 00:29:15.829 --> 00:29:19.329 really drive this point home. I'll tell you, 00:29:19.349 --> 00:29:22.930 I was surprised that educators were more likely 00:29:22.930 --> 00:29:26.809 to recommend service than parents or the general 00:29:26.809 --> 00:29:30.289 population. I wouldn't have guessed that. So 00:29:30.289 --> 00:29:33.250 there's information in this survey of, I think 00:29:33.250 --> 00:29:38.089 it was over a thousand people, that helps again 00:29:38.089 --> 00:29:42.769 shape your views on policies and actions based 00:29:42.769 --> 00:29:46.730 on data versus feelings. So that is one that 00:29:46.730 --> 00:29:52.309 surprised me. And some of the answers by Americans 00:29:52.309 --> 00:29:54.509 about, well, if you get out of the military, 00:29:54.609 --> 00:29:59.210 you're damaged, surprised me as well. Yeah, absolutely. 00:29:59.509 --> 00:30:04.670 I mean, the good news and the bad news is what 00:30:04.670 --> 00:30:07.589 you honed in on is educators. There's a great 00:30:07.589 --> 00:30:10.390 opportunity of educators. They're better informed, 00:30:10.490 --> 00:30:13.630 and they're more willing to be even better informed. 00:30:14.170 --> 00:30:16.809 There's a receptiveness with them towards military 00:30:16.809 --> 00:30:19.650 service. And if they are better informed, they're 00:30:19.650 --> 00:30:22.750 the most likely to recommend service. So for 00:30:22.750 --> 00:30:25.670 DOD, It's very clear that's where their efforts 00:30:25.670 --> 00:30:29.390 need to focus. It's twofold, right? It's one, 00:30:29.789 --> 00:30:31.390 actually driving better outcomes for veterans, 00:30:31.490 --> 00:30:34.549 and then two, educating the public. There's all 00:30:34.549 --> 00:30:38.309 kinds of misperceptions out there. We did a whole 00:30:38.309 --> 00:30:42.250 social media campaign of truth versus reality. 00:30:43.899 --> 00:30:47.099 70 % of respondents thought veterans are economically 00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:50.559 unstable, but Pew Center research shows that 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:53.480 median household income for veterans is actually 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:56.579 significantly higher than non -veteran households, 00:30:57.380 --> 00:30:59.720 or two -thirds of respondents thought veterans 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:02.420 aren't productive in the workplace. where Gartner 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:04.799 research actually showed that veterans are 4 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:06.660 % more productive in the workplace. And they 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:09.200 looked across a million Fortune 500 employees. 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:13.599 Or this perception that civilians don't care 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:15.660 about veteran well -being. Actually, they do. 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:19.160 90 % of them showed strong support for improving 00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:23.099 federal programs. The list goes on, but like 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:24.599 mental health, let's talk about that for a second. 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:27.180 80 % of respondents thought veterans aren't mentally 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:29.660 healthy, but according to the Journal of Health 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:32.359 Care, veterans have lower rates of mental health 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:34.980 issues than non -veterans. This is one example. 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:37.559 So there's all these misperceptions out there. 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:43.829 Some of this is related to our... entertainment 00:31:43.829 --> 00:31:48.390 business, right? Whether it's TV or movies, unless 00:31:48.390 --> 00:31:50.730 the veteran comes home damaged, the story doesn't 00:31:50.730 --> 00:31:57.089 seem to have an arc to it. And I find this very 00:31:57.089 --> 00:32:00.369 frustrating when you hear like what the statistics 00:32:00.369 --> 00:32:02.910 you just reported. And I think in past I've heard 00:32:02.910 --> 00:32:05.690 from folks that veterans have a higher percentage 00:32:05.690 --> 00:32:09.690 of home ownership, which is where stability and 00:32:09.690 --> 00:32:13.809 wealth gets generated for a family than non -veterans. 00:32:14.869 --> 00:32:17.549 And so, yeah, getting, busting some of these 00:32:17.549 --> 00:32:21.170 perceptions is very hard work, isn't it? Yeah, 00:32:21.309 --> 00:32:24.920 and you know, it's the old... you know, the truth, 00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:27.019 a lie goes around the world twice before the 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:30.640 truth gets its shoes on, right? So it's, you 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:34.140 know, on your homeownership point, 65%, two thirds 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:36.099 of response thought vets don't own their own 00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:39.359 homes. The census data shows that 80 % of veterans 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:42.039 own their own homes as compared to 60 % of non 00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:45.599 -veterans. That's a huge generational wealth 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:48.279 creation vehicle that is something you could 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:51.200 market for recruitment and dispel that myth, 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.019 but we're not investing in it at all. is a huge 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:57.460 mistake in my judgment. I'd agree and we're talking 00:32:57.460 --> 00:33:01.779 to President of Call of Duty Endowment Dan Goldenberg, 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:05.599 US Navy Captain retired. Dan the other area I 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:07.980 wanted to touch on before we run way out of time 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:13.200 is there's a lot of positive news in this study 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:18.769 that you did and published back in March. The 00:33:18.769 --> 00:33:21.769 idea that young people would benefit from connecting 00:33:21.769 --> 00:33:25.230 with veterans and hearing their experiences was 00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:28.210 really highly regarded. And there's a whole list 00:33:28.210 --> 00:33:30.690 of things where like, it seems like it's the 00:33:30.690 --> 00:33:32.910 opposite. You heard all these horror stories 00:33:32.910 --> 00:33:35.210 about veterans. You get to this set of questions 00:33:35.210 --> 00:33:37.309 and it's like, oh yeah, these are really good 00:33:37.309 --> 00:33:39.609 people. We have to have more interaction with 00:33:39.609 --> 00:33:43.420 them. Yeah, look the problem we're up against 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:46.700 is this our society still respects the military 00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:50.039 and veterans to a high degree But it's kind of 00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:53.279 like this. It's like I respect veterans. I admire 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:56.400 them. I applaud them I'll donate to them. I just 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:00.400 don't want my kid my player on my team my student 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.640 to go be one of them Because if they do, bad 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.019 things are going to happen to them. That's what 00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:07.740 we're up to display. At the same time, to your 00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:10.420 point about good news, there is a huge willingness 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:14.639 across parents, teachers, coaches, and students 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:16.900 to learn about the veteran community, to meet 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:19.360 veterans, that we, again, don't really take advantage 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.599 of. You know, the best recruiters, Jim, are not 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:24.500 wearing a uniform and sitting in a recruiting 00:34:24.500 --> 00:34:28.679 station. They're you and me. They're people whose 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.369 lives are better because of their service. And, 00:34:31.369 --> 00:34:35.190 you know, DOD really does very little to activate 00:34:35.190 --> 00:34:37.469 us. Can you, you know, if we thought about veterans 00:34:37.469 --> 00:34:40.070 for a minute as alumni of the military, could 00:34:40.070 --> 00:34:42.690 you imagine a successful university that didn't 00:34:42.690 --> 00:34:46.949 use their alumni to attract candidates? It's 00:34:46.949 --> 00:34:49.730 unthinkable, right? Yeah, excellent point. You 00:34:49.730 --> 00:34:53.849 know, but we get, we, you know, it starts a transition 00:34:53.849 --> 00:34:56.110 where they can't get you out the door fast enough 00:34:56.110 --> 00:34:58.150 once you say you want to leave. We don't prepare 00:34:58.150 --> 00:35:01.599 them well to be successful. And then Even those 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:03.420 people like you or me, like the best decision 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:05.400 I ever made in my life, my wife winses whenever 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:07.420 I say that, but I remind her if I hadn't made 00:35:07.420 --> 00:35:09.780 that decision, I never would have met her. So, 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:14.300 you know. If you had gone to West Point, you 00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:16.340 would have dated one of those high school girls. 00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:21.739 That's true, oh my gosh. But, you know, ultimately, 00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:25.480 like veterans are an incredible asset, you know, 00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:28.880 for this problem that needs to be tapped into, 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:32.559 for sure. So let's go to the four key recommendations 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:36.659 that the Veteran Perceptions Survey results generated 00:35:36.659 --> 00:35:40.659 and this was done sponsored with Call of Duty 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:43.559 Endowment and Mission Roll Call. Talk to us about 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:46.239 the recommendations. Yeah, four recommendations. 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:49.860 The first is accountability drives performance. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.280 We need to make this massive $340 billion federal 00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:56.719 spend on veterans accountable to results. Right 00:35:56.719 --> 00:35:59.079 now they simply are not. you know, what gets 00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:02.760 measured gets done. There's no system in place 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:06.119 to track, to update the American taxpayer on 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:08.639 how this money is being spent, why it's being 00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:10.500 spent, and what kind of results we're getting. 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:13.679 And we think if there's sunshine, we'll really 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:15.099 help that. Again, that's one of those things 00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:19.619 I was hoping Doge might drive or government accountability 00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:24.800 efforts would. We'll see. Second, It's so clear, 00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:28.539 you know, year after year, so our grantees, the 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:31.360 Call of Duty Edom's grantees, since 2022, we've 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:33.820 been placing more veterans in jobs than the federal 00:36:33.820 --> 00:36:36.980 government. Like that's staggering for a fraction 00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:39.000 of the price. Last year again. It's staggering, 00:36:39.059 --> 00:36:42.539 but it's also sad. It is very sad. There's no 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:46.039 accountability there. And so after years, and 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:49.159 I've got 12 years of quarterly data showing this, 00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:52.230 it's time to redirect the federal government 00:36:52.230 --> 00:36:54.590 funding for employment to the non -profits that 00:36:54.590 --> 00:36:56.369 have a proven track record of doing a better 00:36:56.369 --> 00:36:59.070 job. That's the second. We direct these government 00:36:59.070 --> 00:37:01.710 funds to proven non -profits that can deliver 00:37:01.710 --> 00:37:04.230 better results and honestly we could probably 00:37:04.230 --> 00:37:06.570 get to full employment for veterans and give 00:37:06.570 --> 00:37:08.329 money back to the government when it was all 00:37:08.329 --> 00:37:11.070 said and done. You're talking about 150 to 180 00:37:11.070 --> 00:37:13.989 million dollars a year and for half that price 00:37:13.989 --> 00:37:15.849 we could probably through non -profits get to 00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:20.130 full employment. The third point is and it starts 00:37:20.130 --> 00:37:25.409 to get to helping the truth get its shoes on 00:37:25.409 --> 00:37:29.329 is launching a national veteran awareness campaign. 00:37:30.130 --> 00:37:33.610 So little of recruitment efforts focus on the 00:37:33.610 --> 00:37:36.409 good things that happen to you through your military 00:37:36.409 --> 00:37:38.989 service after you take the uniform off. We need 00:37:38.989 --> 00:37:42.449 a national campaign focused on that, highlighting 00:37:42.449 --> 00:37:46.789 the great economic outcomes, the health outcomes, 00:37:47.429 --> 00:37:50.440 all the the family outcomes that actually do 00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:53.280 happen through military service. And that includes 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:56.199 involving the veteran community in this. And 00:37:56.199 --> 00:37:59.159 then finally, a great opportunity, this is a 00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.119 more tactical recommendation, but worth noting, 00:38:01.380 --> 00:38:03.619 because you picked it out, was that we have a 00:38:03.619 --> 00:38:05.820 great opportunity to focus, DOD has a great opportunity 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:08.719 to focus on educating high school staff. If they 00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:12.380 educate them on the actual great results veterans 00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:14.539 get by and large, and you know, on the things 00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:17.980 we're doing to improve. they're likely to get 00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:21.340 an extended recruiting force from teachers and 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:24.360 high school staff. Yeah, it's a force multiplier 00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:27.159 if you do that right. Perfect way to describe 00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:31.360 it. Before we come to the end and I told Dan 00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:33.659 at the outset here, I've been following Call 00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:36.079 of Duty Endowment for a number of years and this 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:38.699 is a great first opportunity to talk with them. 00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:42.880 Dan, where's the future go? What does the endowment 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:46.400 do on a going forward basis? What's the plans? 00:38:48.340 --> 00:38:52.619 Yeah, so first of all, you know, right now because 00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:55.480 of the government cuts, I think a very timely 00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:58.300 thing we have to think about is we estimate over 00:38:58.300 --> 00:39:02.000 80 ,000 veterans have lost their job in federal 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:05.980 employment in the last two or three months. 80 00:39:05.980 --> 00:39:09.739 ,000. That's a tidal wave of unemployed veterans. 00:39:10.099 --> 00:39:12.059 And if you think about it, you know, I think 00:39:12.059 --> 00:39:14.849 we want the narrative that Some people pitch 00:39:14.849 --> 00:39:17.670 is that oh these are low -performing bureaucrats, 00:39:17.690 --> 00:39:20.130 but if you look into it is actually not true 00:39:20.130 --> 00:39:23.190 The vast majority of these people were probationary 00:39:23.190 --> 00:39:26.010 employees right relative relatively new hires 00:39:26.010 --> 00:39:27.960 to the government or people who are recently 00:39:27.960 --> 00:39:30.539 promoting. So literally what the folks are getting 00:39:30.539 --> 00:39:32.400 rid of those who are easy to get rid of, which 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:35.039 are, you know, new hires who are excited to come 00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:38.340 start their job and serve. They're not jaded 00:39:38.340 --> 00:39:40.360 bureaucrats. And those who are your top performers 00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:44.800 who got promoted. These are great potential hires. 00:39:45.139 --> 00:39:48.239 And yet the kind of resources, not great as they 00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:50.599 are, that transitioning service members have 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:53.239 like TAP. Those are not open to these employees. 00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:55.980 There's no systemic program to help them, and 00:39:55.980 --> 00:39:57.780 they need help because even if they've been working 00:39:57.780 --> 00:40:00.960 in government for 10, 20 years, you know, the 00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:03.159 things you do to get hired and promoted in government 00:40:03.159 --> 00:40:05.440 are very different than the private sector. Our 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:07.420 resources in the Call of Duty Endowment are open 00:40:07.420 --> 00:40:10.019 to them, and we'd love to get the word out to 00:40:10.019 --> 00:40:11.800 them. You know, it doesn't matter how long ago 00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:14.260 you took off the uniform. If you served, we're 00:40:14.260 --> 00:40:17.460 here to help. So that's an area where we're keenly 00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:20.579 focused on. Getting better data, as we discussed, 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:23.780 that's another area. And then the third area 00:40:23.780 --> 00:40:26.780 is really, quite frankly, getting that government 00:40:26.780 --> 00:40:28.659 funding, federal government funding away from 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:31.420 the Department of Labor to, not to us, but to 00:40:31.420 --> 00:40:34.980 our grantees so they can do more great work for 00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:36.820 a much lower cost for the veteran community. 00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:40.059 If you're a veteran out there and maybe you lost 00:40:40.059 --> 00:40:43.369 your job in the federal purge, and you want to 00:40:43.369 --> 00:40:46.269 know more about Call of Duty Endowment and maybe 00:40:46.269 --> 00:40:50.849 get pointed to a non -profit grantee of the endowment. 00:40:51.429 --> 00:40:54.969 How do folks learn more about the endowment and 00:40:54.969 --> 00:40:59.250 how do they plug in? Yeah, so they go to callofdutyendowment 00:40:59.250 --> 00:41:02.849 .org and click on veteran support and we'll connect 00:41:02.849 --> 00:41:05.409 them with our highest performing grantees who 00:41:05.409 --> 00:41:07.920 are most appropriate for their situation. Well, 00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:10.099 we really appreciate the time you've given us 00:41:10.099 --> 00:41:13.880 today, Dan Goldenberg, U .S. Navy Captain, retired 00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:17.099 President of Call of Duty Endowment, and we're 00:41:17.099 --> 00:41:21.039 really thrilled to talk about the data that you're 00:41:21.039 --> 00:41:23.500 generating so that decisions can be made on that 00:41:23.500 --> 00:41:25.920 versus feelings, and certainly you're having 00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:29.239 a great impact, and we encourage all the work 00:41:29.239 --> 00:41:30.960 that you're doing. Thanks for your time today. 00:41:31.880 --> 00:41:35.239 Thank you, Jim. It was a real pleasure. We just 00:41:35.239 --> 00:41:38.760 want to remind you that Veterans Radio podcasts 00:41:38.760 --> 00:41:42.440 are available on all your favorite streaming 00:41:42.440 --> 00:41:47.300 platforms including RSS .com, Apple Podcasts, 00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:52.280 Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, I Heart Radio, and 00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:55.300 Reeves Across America Radio. So wherever you 00:41:55.300 --> 00:41:58.460 are, you can find us, whether it's on your... 00:41:58.409 --> 00:42:00.969 mobile phone or your computer or your laptop 00:42:00.969 --> 00:42:05.230 or tablet but listen in to Veterans Radio podcast. 00:42:05.469 --> 00:42:07.769 We post something new every week and you're going 00:42:07.769 --> 00:42:11.690 to find it informative. And I want to thank everybody 00:42:11.690 --> 00:42:14.489 for listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim 00:42:14.489 --> 00:42:17.369 Fossone. It's been a pleasure to be your host. 00:42:17.469 --> 00:42:20.190 I'm a Veterans disability lawyer at Legal Help 00:42:20.190 --> 00:42:24.130 for Veterans and you can reach us at 800 -693 00:42:24.130 --> 00:42:29.019 -4800. or legalhelpforveterans .com on the web. 00:42:29.699 --> 00:42:32.559 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and 00:42:32.559 --> 00:42:35.559 listen to its podcasts and internet radio shows 00:42:35.559 --> 00:42:39.619 by visiting us at veteransradio .org. That's 00:42:39.619 --> 00:42:44.000 veteransradio .org. We again want to thank our 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:46.820 national sponsors, the National Veterans Business 00:42:46.820 --> 00:42:52.079 Development Council, nvbdc .org. Legal Help for 00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:55.889 Veterans. A Veterans Disability Law Firm with 00:42:55.889 --> 00:43:00.409 a national practice before the VA can help you 00:43:00.409 --> 00:43:04.429 on your claims and your appeals. It can be reached 00:43:04.429 --> 00:43:10.610 at legalhelpforveterans .com or 1 -800 -693 -4800. 00:43:12.289 --> 00:43:15.429 And PuroClean, a leader in property emergency 00:43:15.429 --> 00:43:19.309 services. It's the paramedics of property damage. 00:43:19.820 --> 00:43:22.780 providing water damage remediation, flood water 00:43:22.780 --> 00:43:26.559 removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, mold 00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:30.440 and biohazard cleanups. You can reach them at 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:37.920 pureclean .com or 800 -775 -7876. We also want 00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:41.340 to thank our local sponsors. This would include 00:43:41.340 --> 00:43:46.840 the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the Vietnam 00:43:46.840 --> 00:43:51.320 Veterans of America. That's chapter 310. VFW 00:43:51.320 --> 00:43:55.639 Graf O 'Hara Post 423, the American Legion Erwin 00:43:55.639 --> 00:43:59.219 Preskin Post 46 in Ann Arbor as well, the VA 00:43:59.219 --> 00:44:02.000 Ann Arbor Health Care System, and certainly the 00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:04.860 National Vietnam Veterans of America Association. 00:44:05.519 --> 00:44:08.179 You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio 00:44:08.179 --> 00:44:12.559 .org, clicking on the About Us in our sponsors, 00:44:12.679 --> 00:44:15.840 and help us out. Keep this program alive for 00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:20.409 the 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another 00:44:20.409 --> 00:44:21.610 20. Thank you.