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 --> 00:00:18.600 day. I'm Jim Fossone. I'm the Officer of the 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:20.699 Deck today here on Veterans Radio and thanks 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:23.460 for joining us. We've got some interesting stories 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:25.640 for you. We always want to remind you, you can 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.739 find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.420 site or at the web, veteransradio .org, where 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.259 we're on the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:38.299 our podcasts there as well. We post new ones 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.479 every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.219 new interview, something you didn't know before 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:49.460 by going to veteransradio .org. 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It's also known 00:02:22.050 --> 00:02:25.389 as Dr. Eric Fretz. Eric, welcome to Veterans 00:02:25.389 --> 00:02:27.789 Radio. Pleasure to be here, Jim. Always fun. 00:02:28.430 --> 00:02:30.569 As I say, you wear a lot of hats. We're going 00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:34.509 to talk today about two of them. Your long -term 00:02:34.509 --> 00:02:36.729 involvement with Student Veterans Association, 00:02:36.870 --> 00:02:40.729 or SVA, but also Veterans Studies Association. 00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:43.870 So before we get there, though, How did a nice 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:47.610 kid like you end up in the US Navy for 20 years? 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:49.930 Yeah, it was very interesting. There's no history 00:02:49.930 --> 00:02:52.629 of service in my immediate family tree either. 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:55.210 Everyone was very puzzled, but I really attributed 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:57.469 to just some very good mentors I had in the Boy 00:02:57.469 --> 00:02:59.789 Scouts. I was very into Boy Scouts. I was an 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:03.409 Eagle Scout and am an Eagle Scout. I got a lot 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:05.689 out of that program and I had a number of mentors 00:03:05.689 --> 00:03:09.509 there that were very instrumental in my growth 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:11.349 as a leader and understanding what I wanted to 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:13.659 do with my life. The one thing I really knew 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:15.780 going off to college was that I liked leadership. 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:18.680 I liked helping groups of people do interesting 00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:21.120 things. And my mentors all told me, if you want 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:24.860 to go where leadership is prized and do it the 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:27.659 hardest way in difficult situations, the military 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.389 is where to go. I ended up going to Michigan 00:03:31.389 --> 00:03:33.569 on a Navy scholarship and that was the beginning 00:03:33.569 --> 00:03:36.689 of many decades and three deployments across 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:40.069 two wars and ships and whatnot. I even spent 00:03:40.069 --> 00:03:43.770 the last year of my career on a no -notice emergency 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:46.490 mobilization to work with the Army's 18th Airborne 00:03:46.490 --> 00:03:49.409 Corps in downtown Baghdad of all things. So my 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:53.449 career was non -standard but very enjoyable and 00:03:53.449 --> 00:03:59.240 I look back on it fondly. has a special place 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:03.759 in your heart and you continue to move all of 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.000 those leadership and military issues along. I 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:10.639 should point out, you have a PhD in psychology 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:12.680 and education from the University of Michigan. 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:17.860 You've taught for many years at the university, 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:22.500 both entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence, 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:28.230 which is both very interesting issues. had thousands 00:04:28.230 --> 00:04:30.709 of students go through, and many, many, many 00:04:30.709 --> 00:04:35.149 of them had been veterans. So along the way, 00:04:35.269 --> 00:04:38.170 you got yourself involved with, I think you were 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:41.689 the faculty mentor, if that's the right word, 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:44.709 for Student Veterans Association at the university. 00:04:46.170 --> 00:04:47.970 Actually, a member back in the day, so it got 00:04:47.970 --> 00:04:51.990 founded in 2008. I was a member in 2009, graduated 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:56.250 in 2010, and then just became sort of an alumni 00:04:56.250 --> 00:04:59.189 slash faculty helper, because that group meant 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:01.550 so much to me when I was a student. I just said, 00:05:01.610 --> 00:05:03.389 I'm all in on these guys, whatever they need. 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:07.290 Well, again, that's been displayed over decades 00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:11.430 now. But tell us a little bit about what Student 00:05:11.430 --> 00:05:14.680 Veterans Association, SDA, is all about. Who 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.279 makes it up? Where do you find these kind of 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.680 groups? Give the listening audience that thumbnail. 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:23.459 For sure, for sure. I mean, veterans on campus 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:26.360 had always been sort of poorly served and disorganized 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:29.740 and kind of fairly lonely until around 2008. 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:34.100 And as the first waves of the war on terror vets 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:37.300 were coming back and were starting to utilize 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:39.319 something called the GI Bill, which is the new 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.560 GI Bill, there were just a number of veterans 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.819 and independent areas around the nation that 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:48.459 had started making veteran groups, voluntary 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:50.860 associations, where they could get together with 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:52.839 other veterans on campus. And a number of them 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.360 became aware of each other. And then they gathered 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:00.199 in Washington, DC. And in 2008, January 23, actually 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:02.899 2008, so really the anniversary is coming up. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.480 a number of them got together and said, let's 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:08.699 formally make a sort of a national organization, 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:11.839 very small at first. It was a nonprofit. And 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:13.939 over the years has grown steadily with the support 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:17.240 of major donors, Walt Disney and any other number 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:21.699 of corporate donors. And they began sort of formalizing 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.259 the process of being an organization and supporting 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:26.839 the founding of chapters. And so now you have 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:32.180 something like 16, 1700 chapters all across the 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:34.600 United States, everything from community colleges 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.910 all the way up to. chapters in graduate school, 00:06:38.089 --> 00:06:41.410 law schools, all over the place. And all of these, 00:06:41.569 --> 00:06:43.730 they ebb and flow obviously as students come 00:06:43.730 --> 00:06:46.110 in and graduate and the leadership changes. So 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.050 on any given time on any given campus, they may 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:50.310 or may not have an SVA. It may be particularly 00:06:50.310 --> 00:06:53.540 large or somewhat small. But the point is they 00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:55.899 consistently are there and have guidance and 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:59.920 help from the national organization. The national 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:03.560 SVA maintains a really extensive network of people 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.939 who could coach them and great online resources 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:10.680 and they host seminars. and have like regional 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:12.660 conferences and then of course a big national 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:14.899 conference every year and they've had about 18 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:17.259 of those this most I just got back from the 18th 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:20.040 annual national convention out in Colorado Springs 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:21.920 and that's a wonderful chance to get thousands 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:23.660 and thousands I think almost 2 ,000 veterans 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:26.259 came together out there enjoyed you know almost 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:29.339 a hundred different sessions major keynotes we 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:31.600 had General Mattis out there he brought the house 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.680 down amazing we had three or four Medal of Honor 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:42.420 recipients Clinton Ramesha, Air Force Mass Sergeant 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:45.259 Joe Bass, just amazing Medal of Honor winners 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:48.300 sharing their stories. It's a really powerful 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.839 bonding time out there at NatCon. So that's the 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:53.459 SVA sort of in a nutshell. They've been around 00:07:53.459 --> 00:07:56.339 for a really long time. People may not think 00:07:56.339 --> 00:07:58.079 about it this way, veterans may not think about 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.319 it this way, but it's really transitional help, 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.740 isn't it? So many guys go into the military, 00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:06.620 they weren't ready for college. They kind of 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:10.120 come out, and life is so different. It's not 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:11.839 organized. It's not anything. A little bit overwhelming. 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:15.100 Yeah, very different. And we talk about transitional 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:18.079 problems a lot. But those who then go on to college, 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.120 whether it's community college, four -year degrees, 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:24.959 graduate schools, can find themselves kind of 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:31.720 in a transitional fog. And SDA is an affinity 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:33.759 group for those folks that they feel more connected. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:35.889 Do I have that right? Absolutely, and it definitely 00:08:35.889 --> 00:08:37.509 mitigates. I mean, the research is really clear. 00:08:37.750 --> 00:08:39.350 It also, you know, later on, maybe we can talk 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.009 about my work with the Journal for Veterans Studies 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:43.049 and the Veterans Studies Association. But the 00:08:43.049 --> 00:08:45.970 research on veterans in this transition mode 00:08:45.970 --> 00:08:48.049 is very clear and they have any number, probably 00:08:48.049 --> 00:08:51.409 a half dozen to a dozen major issues such as, 00:08:51.409 --> 00:08:54.169 you know, having age issues, having a lot of 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:56.049 non -traditional student issues like being older, 00:08:56.190 --> 00:08:58.629 having kids, being married. They have the financial 00:08:58.629 --> 00:09:00.269 thing. A lot of them are the first time at college. 00:09:00.370 --> 00:09:02.169 All of these things are well known to administrators 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:04.500 as risk factors for performance. possibly dropping 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:07.240 out of college. And the SVA and SVA chapters 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.200 provide a really nice antidote to that. And in 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.080 some cases and some chapters like at Michigan, 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:14.100 when I was helping with it, we designed an entire 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:17.240 mini course that was all the lessons were specifically 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.080 addressed to focus on these things that we knew 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:22.299 would trip up veterans. And we had a really healthy 00:09:22.299 --> 00:09:24.590 ecosystem there that would. Deliberately teach 00:09:24.590 --> 00:09:26.429 them all the things and prevent them from making 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:28.049 some of the common mistakes So that transition 00:09:28.049 --> 00:09:31.090 is huge and at NatCon about I'd say at least 00:09:31.090 --> 00:09:33.230 a quarter of the sessions at the National Convention 00:09:33.230 --> 00:09:35.830 Are about transition helping people with transition 00:09:35.830 --> 00:09:37.850 and building vibrant chapters that can assist 00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:40.029 with this. So you're right I want to talk about 00:09:40.029 --> 00:09:43.350 NatCon, but before we get there I kind of want 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:46.190 to point out to our veteran radio listeners if 00:09:46.190 --> 00:09:50.750 you're a veteran going back to school or if your 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:55.740 Spouses or your son or daughter are I think Dr. 00:09:55.899 --> 00:09:59.840 Eric Frentz is saying encourage those folks to 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:03.620 get connected to the SGA at their university. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.460 For sure and most universities will have parallel 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:08.600 to the SVA. They will have some sort of veteran 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.559 services office at a minimum like one person 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.399 and maybe a certifying official in some cases 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:15.820 like a place like say Syracuse that really has 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:18.480 it wired. I mean Syracuse has I don't know something 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.840 like 50 to 100 people in there because they have 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.440 the Institute for veteran military families. 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:25.539 I mean they have a machine there and lots of 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:27.919 places will have like say a half a dozen and 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:30.259 they will support what's called military affiliated 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:32.919 students. So in many places for the GI Bill. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.240 Only half the people on the GI Bill are actually 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.220 veterans, the other half are like the kids of 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:39.360 retirees. And they're a little different, obviously, 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.340 but they still get the same supports. And some 00:10:42.340 --> 00:10:45.019 SVA's welcome them in, others not, but it really 00:10:45.019 --> 00:10:47.940 varies. But they're just great supports. If you're 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:51.360 using GI Bill benefits on campus, there are support 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:53.139 structures for you and you should go seek them 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:56.379 out for sure. Again, it's so important on transition 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:00.120 and sometimes we just want to do it ourselves. 00:11:01.040 --> 00:11:03.139 Yeah, and there's there's a lot of veterans who 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:05.559 are thinking about going to college and get intimidated 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:07.539 or think well I'll just go to community college 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:09.379 because a big college would never accept me and 00:11:09.379 --> 00:11:11.519 so I want to say encourage one of the greatest 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.039 nationwide vet charities I know of is warrior 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:16.519 scholar project and you can you can Google them 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:18.220 where scholar project They've been around for 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:20.100 a long time I was with them right when they started 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:22.559 back at Yale and I brought their first Expansion 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:24.480 program to the University of Michigan years and 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.340 years ago with a wonderful friend Ryan Pavell 00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:30.320 who's now the CEO and they do fantastic work 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:32.740 nationwide. They have over 20 campus sessions 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:35.580 every summer. And you sign up with Warrior Scholar. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:37.940 You get to go to one of these amazing campuses, 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:39.820 one of these amazing universities. You get to 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:41.799 work with professors there. You get essentially 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.809 an academic boot camp that shows you. how to 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:47.409 perform and that you can perform at a high level 00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:50.149 at a top -tier university. And this is really 00:11:50.149 --> 00:11:52.169 transformative for a lot of students, a lot of 00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:53.509 veterans. I mean, pretty much all the veterans 00:11:53.509 --> 00:11:55.549 that do it say it's an amazing experience. So 00:11:55.549 --> 00:11:57.590 if you're a veteran thinking about going back 00:11:57.590 --> 00:11:59.389 to school or even if you're at community college 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:01.330 and thinking about making the jump, the Warrior 00:12:01.330 --> 00:12:04.090 Scholar Project is really the best two weeks 00:12:04.090 --> 00:12:05.669 you could spend in the summer. And as long as 00:12:05.669 --> 00:12:07.350 you can get to that campus, everything else is 00:12:07.350 --> 00:12:09.809 paid for. So it's amazing. That's a great program. 00:12:09.830 --> 00:12:12.009 Thanks for bringing that forward. Because again, 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:14.200 Part of what we try to do is share information 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:17.139 that people may not know. And hopefully, they 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:19.440 say it may be to their grandson or granddaughter 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:22.480 or niece or nephew. It may not be directly to 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.899 them that we're getting this information out, 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.080 but we want it to filter down. So it's important 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:34.539 stuff. What triggered this talk is I saw some 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:37.799 comments you made about being at SVA NatTow. 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:42.269 So they just had their national convention. Talk 00:12:42.269 --> 00:12:45.370 to us about why there's a national convention, 00:12:45.490 --> 00:12:49.429 what it's about. I saw that you've been at least 00:12:49.429 --> 00:12:52.730 a dozen of the 18. I think you can't remember 00:12:52.730 --> 00:12:55.149 them all as part of it. Exactly. Tell us about 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:57.730 the last one. Sure. Well, this is really wonderful. 00:12:57.909 --> 00:12:59.710 It's the second time we did two in a row out 00:12:59.710 --> 00:13:02.450 there at Colorado Springs. And I was out there 00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:05.169 with my good friends, Jared Lyon, who had been 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:08.470 the CEO and president for just as long as I can 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:10.990 remember. And he's recently stepped down. He's 00:13:10.990 --> 00:13:13.049 finishing his Ph .D. So he stepped down. They're 00:13:13.049 --> 00:13:16.250 going to be a new CEO. And then, you know, he 00:13:16.250 --> 00:13:18.129 has a couple of partners in crime I'm good friends 00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:20.769 with. Abby Kinch was basically a Totally. She 00:13:20.769 --> 00:13:23.509 was a very busy woman organizing and handling 00:13:23.509 --> 00:13:26.350 a lot of the conference. She also did a really 00:13:26.350 --> 00:13:28.450 cool research think tank that I participated 00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:30.370 in. That's one of many things. It's a chance 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:32.809 to gather all these like -minded veterans and 00:13:32.809 --> 00:13:36.029 also some special interest areas. They had not 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:39.289 just the research think tank, but the policy 00:13:39.289 --> 00:13:41.090 think tank, and they have summits of other groups 00:13:41.090 --> 00:13:44.039 as well. And you know major nationwide leaders 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:45.720 from different groups are coming together there 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.879 as well we have a big conference floor where 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:51.200 there are just hundred plus boots and Veterans 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.019 student veterans can go in there and basically 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:55.659 get instantly hired I mean the corporations are 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:59.460 on the track of hey veterans Yeah, and so it 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:02.240 is not uncommon to go to SVA netcom Go and get 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:04.759 interviewed by half dozen places and walk out 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:07.720 of there with a job offer. So that's really wonderful 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:10.019 And they do all sorts of coaching. TikTok is 00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:12.200 there, and they're helping people with headshots. 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:15.000 And it's just a really great professional environment 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:17.279 for veterans. When it started, it was mostly 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:19.639 just get the chapters together and let's all 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:21.200 figure out what we're doing. But within four 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:23.500 or five years, it had become, hey, let's make 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:25.820 this a thing. And you started to see corporate 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:27.840 sponsors and people signing up for these booths 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:30.100 and all this value added, and then all these 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:32.039 great sessions as well. And I've presented there, 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:33.940 gosh, half a dozen times on different topics. 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:35.700 And it's always really been fantastic, great 00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:39.740 response. just an eagerly anticipated thing every 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:43.519 year. The next one will be next year to be January 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.980 4th through 6th at the Gaylord Texan Resort just 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:50.779 outside of Dallas. So we'll be going someplace 00:14:50.779 --> 00:14:55.019 a little warmer. There you go. Good choice. But 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:57.139 one of the things we've certainly noticed over 00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:59.159 the years of talking to veterans on Veterans 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:02.799 Radio, Dr. Eric Fretz, who is also a board member 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:07.529 of Veterans Radio. Indeed. When you transition 00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:10.509 out of the military, you're kind of behind your 00:15:10.509 --> 00:15:13.809 contemporaries. Those folks who go in, maybe 00:15:13.809 --> 00:15:15.649 they didn't spend four years or eight years or 00:15:15.649 --> 00:15:19.350 12 years. And so you don't have that natural 00:15:19.350 --> 00:15:23.350 network of business contacts that you've developed 00:15:23.350 --> 00:15:26.750 for moving jobs and whatnot. And you break with 00:15:26.750 --> 00:15:29.090 the military, you kind of lose that network as 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:32.590 well. It sounds to me like SVA is a little bit 00:15:32.590 --> 00:15:36.500 of Again bridging that divide of saying you ought 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.240 to come network with these guys because these 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.919 are the future business leaders and Contacts 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:43.440 that you're gonna want to have am I reading that 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:45.620 right? Yeah for sure. That's definitely an effect, 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:48.120 right? I mean at any given local chapter There's 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:50.279 networks are like student veterans who worked 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:52.700 with me when I was very primary for the SVA there 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:54.679 of course I had my enormous network and if somebody 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:58.080 wanted to somebody wanted to Do something in 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.600 ophthalmology and I would call my you know something 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:02.919 in there and I would call my contact within the 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:04.379 U of M and I would get them an interview those 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:06.139 sort of things very powerful and then at the 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:08.340 national level when you go to NatCon you are 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:10.620 basically Injected into this sort of system. 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:13.000 That's all there. There's just a whole bunch 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.039 of people there at NatCon who are there to pull 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:19.720 in the veterans that are walking by. If you were 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:21.419 just in your hometown, you wouldn't have that. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:22.940 And even if you cold called them, you wouldn't 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:26.379 have that. So that's really an advantage, yeah. 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:28.960 And I think veterans, it is true that they have 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:32.840 sort of missed out on some things, but also I 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:36.919 think they tend to over -focus on that. Over 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.519 -focus on the fact that they've built these tremendous 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.179 skill sets. And so I always remember this one. 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:44.519 It's a gentleman, Will, that you know. Very, 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:47.120 very, very awesome guy. And he had gotten his 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.000 triple, his triple major bachelor's degree, and 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.919 was telling me how, oh, but, you know, they want 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.740 to interview me for this thing, and it's an executive 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:57.379 position, and I... I was just a staff sergeant 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:59.460 or whatever. I was like, oh, Will, come on. You 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:02.139 were in combat. You led all these people. You 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.240 were in charge of millions of dollars. You have 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:07.000 a bachelor's degree. You are every bit as good 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:10.039 as any mid -career officer that got recruited 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.660 in to do these junior executive positions. You 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:16.319 stop undercutting yourself and get in there and 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.019 go. And he did, and he did great. But it is common 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:23.119 that the vets are not really realizing how much 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.759 their service and particularly their non -commissioned 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.980 officer leadership has prepared them as long 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:31.079 as they can effectively de -green, that's the 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:34.559 term I use, de -green and get the military sharp 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.059 edge off, but then take all those skills, that 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:39.900 loyalty, that hard work, that team focus, that's 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:42.319 so valuable in the real world. Well, and a lot 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.440 of that are those soft skills you can't teach, 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:47.299 right? They're getting grained in your DNA in 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:51.960 the military to be able to follow orders, show 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:56.980 up on time. work hard, you know, not whine, all 00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:58.900 those sorts of things. I always laugh. I worked 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:00.720 on a big committee. I was the chair of a big 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:02.579 committee about military stuff at Michigan for 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:04.920 years, and I always laughed because I would park 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.539 my car near the administration building 10 minutes 00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:09.549 before the meeting. And at five minutes before 00:18:09.549 --> 00:18:11.589 the meeting, I would step out of my car and begin 00:18:11.589 --> 00:18:13.890 the three minute walk to the lobby with the and 00:18:13.890 --> 00:18:17.269 as I walked from my car to the door from three 00:18:17.269 --> 00:18:19.970 different directions, the three commanders of 00:18:19.970 --> 00:18:23.970 the ROTC units would just appear walking and 00:18:23.970 --> 00:18:26.569 they were all in the military, simultaneous time 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:28.529 on top and all the missiles arrive at the same 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:30.769 time. Right. And and I would always laugh and 00:18:30.769 --> 00:18:34.009 I'd be like, boy, oh, boy, we are just all peas 00:18:34.009 --> 00:18:37.809 in a pod. Right. Early is on time. One time is 00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:40.690 late. That is ingrained. Well, one of the things 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:44.990 that you also have a finger in is the Veterans 00:18:44.990 --> 00:18:49.869 Studies Association, which was also a part of 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:54.349 being at NACMP. So tell us a little bit about 00:18:54.349 --> 00:18:57.490 the Veterans Studies Association. This is essentially, 00:18:57.490 --> 00:19:00.750 it's a group of scholars that has gradually built 00:19:00.750 --> 00:19:03.650 up nationwide who are interested in studying 00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:06.690 veteran populations and doing research and sharing 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.329 that research, collaborating, and in the end, 00:19:09.470 --> 00:19:12.250 trying to build a nationwide academic community. 00:19:12.269 --> 00:19:13.809 Because if you think there are lots of areas, 00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:16.910 particularly with marginalized populations, so 00:19:16.910 --> 00:19:19.869 you've heard of women's studies, African -American 00:19:19.869 --> 00:19:22.009 studies, things like that, where these are very 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:23.950 important disciplines that organize research 00:19:23.950 --> 00:19:26.069 around a scholarly pursuit and sort of build 00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:28.549 a structure, and again, a discipline, right? 00:19:28.630 --> 00:19:30.250 So you can think of the American Psychological 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:33.329 Association, and I'm a member of that. It's enormous, 00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:35.569 with tens of thousands of people, and they have 00:19:35.569 --> 00:19:37.869 huge million dollar conferences, and everyone, 00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:39.910 they have a journal, they have multiple magazines, 00:19:40.289 --> 00:19:42.809 and everyone in the profession kind of is grounded 00:19:42.809 --> 00:19:46.339 through this. academic entity, right? And so 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:47.960 we would love the Veteran Studies Association 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.799 to grow into that. And it's been on a steady 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:52.059 growth patterns, a couple hundred members nationwide. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:55.160 It was formally founded in twenty nineteen, but 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:57.839 it existed long before that. There were groups 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.440 of individuals in Virginia and other places that 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.380 were doing a veterans and society conference 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:04.640 and sharing their interest in studying veterans. 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:07.400 And some of this was, you know, how doing special 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.400 English class, English professors, English professors 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:13.079 that were doing special courses on creative writing. 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:15.759 just using veterans and grounding it in their 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.180 war experiences, things like that, or individuals 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:20.539 who are in social work programs and looking at 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.039 PTSD. So we're trying to create this discipline 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:26.039 where all of the, to be honest, there are thousands 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:28.960 of researchers nationwide who are doing research 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.859 directly or peripherally on veterans, don't really 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:35.180 see themselves as, oh yeah, I'm a veteran researcher. 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.420 They think I'm a PTSD researcher who looks at 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:39.440 veterans. We would love for them to sort of come 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:41.970 under this umbrella. build this veteran studies 00:20:41.970 --> 00:20:44.690 out Morgan, you know, we have a big website that 00:20:44.690 --> 00:20:46.329 can give you people lots of information. It's 00:20:46.329 --> 00:20:50.109 a veteran ology. So veteran ology, veteran ology 00:20:50.109 --> 00:20:53.690 .org. And you can also just search a veteran 00:20:53.690 --> 00:20:56.150 studies association and you should find it. And 00:20:56.150 --> 00:20:57.769 in there, there'll be links to our journal, the 00:20:57.769 --> 00:20:59.529 journal of veteran studies, which has been around 00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:02.730 since 2015 and has published coming up on probably 00:21:02.730 --> 00:21:05.230 500 different articles, original research, book 00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:07.569 reviews, all about veterans. So if you're doing 00:21:07.569 --> 00:21:11.289 research in veterans, on veterans JBS is a good 00:21:11.289 --> 00:21:13.049 place to try and publish if you're not publishing 00:21:13.049 --> 00:21:16.190 somewhere else they're currently doing well i 00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:18.930 think they do they do two big issues a year it's 00:21:18.930 --> 00:21:21.390 an open open platform so there's no there's no 00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:24.170 charge right it's open access to everybody it 00:21:24.170 --> 00:21:28.400 is peer reviewed um so yeah it's uh the the JVS 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.400 and the VSA are sort of linked together loosely 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.299 um there's an independent editor for JVS Khadijah 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:36.380 Boyd who's doing fantastic work and um then the 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:39.500 VSA with Corin Hinton is the current president 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:41.799 and uh there's actually just so folks know what 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:44.220 we're talking about here there are four or well 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:46.579 there's like a total of six between six and twelve 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:50.059 programs nationwide that do either a bachelor's 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:53.940 degree a minor or a certificate in veterans or 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:56.660 military studies and that's really cool because 00:21:56.660 --> 00:21:58.099 that means you can actually go somewhere and 00:21:58.099 --> 00:22:00.460 get a degree in this and I think most veterans 00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:02.220 should know about that because there is a really 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:03.960 when we're in the conferences the veterans are 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.200 so interested in sort of giving back to their 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:08.819 community and participating in research and conducting 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:12.500 research. Anyway, if you're a graduate student 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:14.200 who's interested in doing that kind of research 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:15.980 or just being a researcher anywhere in the veteran 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:18.440 space, you'd be crazy not to join the VSA because 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:20.740 we have conferences every two years. It's coming 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:24.420 up now. In March 26, the Veterans and Society 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:25.900 Conference is going to be at the University of 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:29.380 Chicago in Chicago. And they have a pre -conference 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:31.460 session where all the young researchers who are 00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:33.259 working in the veterans research space can come 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:37.339 in and have all of these old, crusty PhD guys 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:39.599 like me just look at their research and give 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:42.299 them some tips and pointers in mentoring. That's 00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:44.920 really powerful. I was at the SVA chairman's 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:47.359 reception and the gentleman came up to me along 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.880 with his friend and said, hey, you know, we're 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.859 PhD students and we've got so much help and been 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:55.259 such, it's such an, the help we've gotten from 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:58.640 the Veterans Studies Association just was critically 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:00.019 important to our progress. And I just thought, 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:01.500 well, isn't that wonderful, right, to hear, to 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:03.059 be at the one conference and hear about the other 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:05.819 one, so. Well, and there's so much information 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.339 that the VA and the government and others develop 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:14.380 on. on veterans, but so few, such a small percentage 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:17.980 of the population, serves. It's sort of a little 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:22.140 minority group, and it's really important for 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:24.640 the rest of the country to realize all the good 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:27.980 stuff going on as compared to the general press 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:31.279 and a lot of successful veteran business owners. 00:23:32.670 --> 00:23:35.670 You've spent a lot of your career teaching veterans 00:23:35.670 --> 00:23:39.329 and teaching in the entrepreneurial space. Talk 00:23:39.329 --> 00:23:44.250 a little bit about that, Barry. It's amazing. 00:23:44.609 --> 00:23:47.349 Veterans are very well suited for entrepreneurship. 00:23:47.609 --> 00:23:50.769 And so I have I've worked with well over 5000 00:23:50.769 --> 00:23:53.230 undergraduate veterans, some of them being student 00:23:53.230 --> 00:23:55.049 veterans. And I've also worked with student veterans 00:23:55.049 --> 00:23:57.809 separately. So, for example, at the local Washtenaw 00:23:57.809 --> 00:24:00.730 Community College, I'm the entrepreneur in residence 00:24:00.730 --> 00:24:03.410 for veterans. for their entrepreneurship center. 00:24:04.690 --> 00:24:07.210 And taught classes over there in entrepreneurship 00:24:07.210 --> 00:24:10.230 dedicated to veterans. Michigan has a dedicated 00:24:10.230 --> 00:24:12.250 veteran entrepreneurship program that's run through 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:14.990 the state. So there's lots of potential there 00:24:14.990 --> 00:24:16.750 because everybody has the potential, if they're 00:24:16.750 --> 00:24:18.710 creative, anybody can be an entrepreneur and 00:24:18.710 --> 00:24:20.849 just need some guidance and some help with those 00:24:20.849 --> 00:24:22.970 steps. But veterans are particularly good at 00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:24.589 it because particularly when it comes to like 00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:26.549 taking over say a franchise or starting a business, 00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:30.769 veterans are capable of working and It put it 00:24:30.769 --> 00:24:32.589 bluntly suffering right, but you know military 00:24:32.589 --> 00:24:34.710 teaches you to be good at suffering in the sense 00:24:34.710 --> 00:24:37.390 of You were putting up with the hard work and 00:24:37.390 --> 00:24:39.470 crap at a level that a lot of people wouldn't 00:24:39.470 --> 00:24:41.410 and so you'll come out of your military service 00:24:41.410 --> 00:24:44.630 and You'll work really hard in a way that seems 00:24:44.630 --> 00:24:46.869 easier to you because it is but other people 00:24:46.869 --> 00:24:49.059 will look and be like wow. Why are you? Why were 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:50.259 you putting up with that? And you're like, but 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:51.559 this is so much better than what I used to have. 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.460 What do you mean? And so veterans in that sense 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:56.059 are kind of goofy because they're not miscalibrated, 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:57.740 but they're calibrated differently basically 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:00.099 by their experiences. So they do a really good 00:25:00.099 --> 00:25:04.380 job. Most franchise companies love to have veterans 00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:06.140 come in and take over a franchise. That's one. 00:25:06.380 --> 00:25:08.480 And then two, even if they're just going to do 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:10.920 their own thing, they're particularly good at 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:13.759 the grind basically. And so I've coached any 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:16.480 number of veterans to success with their ideas. 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:20.519 And so, yeah. Well, again, I think that it's 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:22.579 been fascinating to watch over the years work 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:26.180 in that space and do what you're doing with younger 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:31.799 veterans, student veterans. Dr. Fretz, we appreciate, 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.099 and I mean, Dr. Eric Fretz is not the doctor 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:36.019 he's married to. That's right. There are many, 00:25:36.019 --> 00:25:39.259 many Dr. Fretz's. I'm the lesser, yes. She's 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:44.259 the real doctor. So again, I want to thank you 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:46.480 for the time that you've taken with Veterans 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:49.200 Radio Day. share some of the experiences out 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:52.839 of the SVA National Convention that you just 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:56.140 attended and informing us about the Veterans 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:59.619 Studies Association and its upcoming program 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:02.880 as well. Eric, thanks for your time today. My 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:07.660 pleasure. It's been great. Anytime. And I want 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:09.420 to thank everybody for listening to Veterans 00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:13.259 Radio today. I am Jim Fossone. It's been a pleasure 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:15.819 to be your host. I'm a Veterans disability lawyer 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:18.640 at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:24.619 us at 800 -693 -4800 or legalhelpforveterans 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:27.839 .com on the web. You can follow Veterans Radio 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:31.119 on Facebook. and listen to its podcasts and internet 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:35.720 radio shows by visiting us at veteransradio .org. 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:39.240 That's veteransradio .org. We would again want 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:42.220 to thank our national sponsors, the National 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:46.160 Veterans Business Development Council, nvbdc 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:51.240 .org. Legal Help for Veterans, a veterans disability 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.359 law firm with a national practice before the 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:58.960 VA. It can help you on your claims and your appeals. 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:03.240 It can be reached at legalhelpforveterans .com 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:09.200 or 1 -800 -693 -4800. We also want to thank our 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:14.079 local sponsors. This would include the Charles 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:18.019 S. Kettles chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:22.759 America. That's chapter 310. VFW Graf O 'Hara 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.619 Post 423, the American Legion. Erwin Preskin, 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:30.259 Post 46 in Ann Arbor as well, the VA Ann Arbor 00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:33.160 Health Care System, and certainly the National 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:36.259 Vietnam Veterans of America Association. You 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:39.220 can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio .org, 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:43.440 clicking on the About Us in our sponsors, and 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.880 help us out. Keep this program alive for the 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:51.380 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another 20. 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:52.220 Thank you.