The Challenges of VA Claims: A Veteran's Perspective on the System
This podcast episode delves into the intricate and multifaceted experiences of veterans as they navigate their transitions from military to civilian life. Our discussion underscores the profound impact of camaraderie among veterans, emphasizing the critical role of community in providing support and understanding during these challenging transitions. We are joined by Jim Letner, a Vietnam War veteran, who shares poignant insights into his journey, including the psychological complexities associated with hyper-vigilance and the long-term effects of service-related experiences. As we address the issues of PTSD and the often-unseen struggles faced by veterans, we highlight the importance of seeking help and engaging with supportive networks. This episode serves as a vital reminder of the necessity for awareness and advocacy in the ongoing dialogue surrounding veteran care and support. The podcast delves into the intricate experiences of veterans as they navigate the complexities of life post-military service.
The discussion is enriched by the insights of Jim Letner, a Vietnam veteran and former radio host, who shares his personal journey from being drafted into the Army to serving as a radioman during significant military campaigns. This episode serves as a poignant reminder of the challenges faced by veterans, including the societal stigma that often accompanies their return. Letner recounts the harsh realities of reintegrating into civilian life, highlighting the emotional and psychological toll that military service can have, particularly for those returning from combat zones like Vietnam. The conversation also addresses the pervasive issue of PTSD and the importance of community support, emphasizing how veterans can benefit from shared experiences and camaraderie as they seek to transition successfully into civilian roles.
Throughout the dialogue, there is a strong focus on the need for awareness and understanding of veterans' issues, particularly in relation to the Veterans Affairs system. Letner discusses the challenges veterans face when seeking assistance, often encountering bureaucratic obstacles that can hinder their access to necessary services. The podcast highlights the critical role of organizations like the Veterans Transition Resource Center (VTRC) in providing support, advocacy, and resources to veterans, fostering a sense of belonging and community. By sharing these stories, the podcast seeks to educate listeners on the sacrifices made by veterans and the ongoing struggles they face, ultimately fostering a deeper appreciation for their service and the complexities of their experiences in and out of uniform.
Takeaways:
- The podcast serves as a platform for veterans, supporters, and volunteers to share insights about their experiences and transitions after military service.
- The importance of camaraderie among veterans is emphasized as a critical aspect of their shared experiences and support systems.
- Guest Jim Letner discusses the challenges faced by Vietnam veterans, particularly in terms of public perception and the treatment upon returning home.
- Hyper vigilance is identified as a significant issue for veterans, impacting their daily lives and relationships after combat service.
- The Veterans Transition Resource Center (VTRC) aims to assist veterans by providing resources to navigate their post-service challenges, including benefits and community support.
- There is a call for increased awareness and education regarding veterans' issues, including PTSD and the long-term effects of service-related experiences.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- VA
- Veterans Transition Resource Center
- PTSD Foundation of America
- War Built Foundation
- We Care Foundation
Transcript
Hey, welcome to Combat Vet Vision.
Speaker A:This is a platform for us as veterans, our sponsors, supporters, volunteers to come on and really kind of, you know, talk about the things that we find important, why, why our volunteers are serving, why our sponsor supporters are and why we as veterans, how we're, how we're transitioning and all the different things in between our lives and how they kind of, kind of coincide.
Speaker A:And we come together and we have this great camaraderie.
Speaker A:And my guest this week, and obviously my co host, JB Brown, chef, jb, world renowned chef.
Speaker A:Great to have you on Dexter.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker B:Hey, thank you.
Speaker B:And welcome to our guests from beautiful downtown Las Vegas.
Speaker A:That's right, that's right, we're in Las Vegas.
Speaker A:And Jim Letner, United States army vet and radio, radioman, back in the, back in the day in Vietnam.
Speaker A:So Jim, thanks, thanks for being here, brother.
Speaker C:Well, thanks for having me on.
Speaker C:I look forward to doing this.
Speaker C:And again, we did the on air here for almost 16 years.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:You also were radio host, co hosting with, with RJ in, in the Forgotten Promise.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Radio show.
Speaker A:And uh, talk about yourself, Jim.
Speaker A:What, what was it that got you to join the Army?
Speaker A:And obviously, you know, you came back, you talked to me about, you know, making it to your 21st birthday and now, now look at you.
Speaker C:What got me to join the army was a draft notice.
Speaker C:That's what got me in.
Speaker C:So I, you know, long story, but I went in with and trained through basic training with 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Speaker C:That was our basic training.
Speaker C:Then went AIT to Fort Knox for code and then down to Fort of Texas for armor.
Speaker C:So I was in country more than a year.
Speaker C:And normally when you're drafted in country more than a year, you don't go to Vietnam.
Speaker C:But I had a critical, what they call a critical MOS and they sent me to Vietnam.
Speaker A:Your MOS was radioman.
Speaker C:Radio.
Speaker C:Radio.
Speaker C:Radio.
Speaker C:Teletype.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:And talk about, talk about your experience in Vietnam.
Speaker A:How did that, how that come out?
Speaker A:And you know, obviously you talked to me about being in both the small TED offensive and the large one.
Speaker C:There was a test run.
Speaker C:A lot of people don't know that there were two, two tets.
Speaker C: he big one, of course, in, in: Speaker C:And our sector, our headquarters company, where I was originally at, was guarded by the Rock Koreans.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Everyone knows if you serve, you know, the Rock Korean Marines.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Well, they, they.
Speaker C:There was 22 of them on.
Speaker C:It was an artillery compound, and the North Vietnamese attacked them direct, and they lowered those big guns on them.
Speaker C:And you talk about a mess.
Speaker C:The rocks were tough troops.
Speaker C:They really were very well trained, very tough troops.
Speaker A:Wow, that's awesome, because I've never spoken to anybody that actually had some time with them, but I've only heard their legendary stories.
Speaker A:But that's a, that's a pretty epic leg.
Speaker A:Legendary story for sure.
Speaker A:And, and what was, what was your experience like over there in, in Vietnam?
Speaker A:I mean, obviously we've seen so many different movies about it, so many different things, and today's generation might not know about Vietnam that much because it doesn't, it doesn't get talked about as much as it was when I was a kid.
Speaker A:Obviously, we've moved on to, you know, the future of warfare, which is drones and all kinds of stuff.
Speaker C:But it was, it was difficult for a lot of the Vietnam veterans because so many back here avoided the draft and went to Canada.
Speaker C:Very true.
Speaker C:That was tough on a lot of the Viet vest.
Speaker C:I mean, I was raised that if you're called, you serve your country no matter what.
Speaker C:And so I did.
Speaker C:And, you know, it's an experience that you go through and you live through it if you're lucky enough to live through it.
Speaker C:The worst experience was coming home when ETS out of Fort Lewis, Washington, they came in and told us, go buy civilian clothes.
Speaker C:We don't want you traveling home in uniform.
Speaker C:We all looked at, what are you talking about?
Speaker C:Well, we don't want you attacked or spit on.
Speaker C:And that's when the realization hit how we were treated.
Speaker C:I got an early out to come back and go to school, and the second day of school, a group of kids come and spit on me.
Speaker C:So I left and never went back.
Speaker C:But that's what we came home to.
Speaker C:And it was tough.
Speaker C:It was tough on a lot of the Vietnames.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, you always hear about that.
Speaker A:And, and I, I think when I came back, I was greeted by some Vietnam vets, and they said, hey, we're never going to let what happened to us happen to you.
Speaker A:And that was, that was kind of significantly like a reality check that so many of them, you know, obviously you couldn't show your pride, and the country was in a different state of mind at the time.
Speaker A:And, you know, it just didn't give you the, the right respect.
Speaker A:So thank you for, for coming back and doing this.
Speaker A:I mean, this is incredible that you're even here.
Speaker A:And, and you, you went through a lot of phases after that transition.
Speaker A:How was your Transition.
Speaker A:I mean, you got out, you 20.
Speaker A:You're five days from your 21st birthday.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker A:How was your birthday?
Speaker C:Well, I got home the day before my birthday again.
Speaker C:We had a little incident there at Fort Lewis when we were etsing that the held us for two extra days.
Speaker C:We had a lieutenant that came in.
Speaker C:It was late at night when we got into the barracks, and he came in and threw a mop bucket down and said, okay, get up and get this place cleaned up.
Speaker C:And we had two NCOs that literally threw him through a door.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker C:So they.
Speaker C:They really messed with us for a couple of days.
Speaker C:Again, just one of those experiences that we were all getting out anyway.
Speaker C:But, you know, to come back and be treated that way, whether it's a lieutenant or not, and to be treated the way we were by so many people, including the news media, I might add.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker C:We hear about the fake news today.
Speaker C:Well, it wasn't much better back then.
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker A:And so you had to stay the extra two days.
Speaker C:Why.
Speaker A:Why was that?
Speaker A:Is that just a.
Speaker A:Processing.
Speaker A:Processing and messing with us still messing with you.
Speaker A:Which is kind of just absolutely horrible.
Speaker A:So when.
Speaker A:When you.
Speaker A:You got out, how did that.
Speaker A:How did that work for you?
Speaker C:Well, it's.
Speaker C:It was quite an adjustment.
Speaker C:I again had having gone to school and got spit on and left.
Speaker C:I set out to try to drink all the alcohol in the country, and had it not been for my uncle that got a hold of me and really guided me along.
Speaker C:I had an uncle that was like a brother to me.
Speaker C:There's 12 kids in my dad's family, so my uncle was only three years older than I was, so we were like brothers.
Speaker C:But he really guided me along, got me straightened out, and then I started going to the VA to get some help, and again, they diagnosed me with hyper vigilance.
Speaker C:That's PTSD for those that may not know.
Speaker C:But that in itself will drive you half crazy.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think, you know, it's hard for the public to kind of recognize that for us to have that hyper vigilance because we're super aware.
Speaker A:We're hyper, hyper aware of our surroundings, constantly evaluating threats, always on guard duty, always on guard.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I think it's really hard for the public to realize, like, you're not always in danger in the.
Speaker A:In America.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You want to believe that it's this great freedom bubble, but there's things that have happened that almost make you wonder, should you be hyper vigilant?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And today.
Speaker C:But especially.
Speaker A:Yeah, but after doing this for so long, being in country for so long, you come back and you don't lose that.
Speaker A:That hyper vigilance.
Speaker A:You maybe tame it down a little bit.
Speaker A:You navigate it a little better.
Speaker A:You know, going to warrior groups has really helped me kind of iron it out throughout the week.
Speaker A:I wait till, you know, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday with my groups to talk about it.
Speaker D:Who.
Speaker A:Who did you talk to about it when you got back?
Speaker C:Well, actually, the psychologists at va. And.
Speaker A:And how'd that help?
Speaker C:You know, it's just to be able to sit down and voice it to somebody, to talk to somebody that has not been there and can't understand.
Speaker C:And for those that may be listening, a hyper vigilance is an example.
Speaker C:You'll go check a door to see if it's locked, and you'll walk away two feet.
Speaker C:And you go back.
Speaker C:No, and you go back, and, you know, that's hyper vigilance.
Speaker C:That's part of hyper vigilance.
Speaker C:And to be able to sit down and talk about that, if you tell just a normal civilian, they'll look at you like you're crazy.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It doesn't necessarily translate.
Speaker A:Anything that we did in combat has a zero translation in civilian life.
Speaker A:And so it's really kind of hard to kind of navigate that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And for them to even keep it an attention span for you, they're like, okay, cool.
Speaker A:Can we move on?
Speaker C:Well, you realize.
Speaker C:You've got to realize you're not by yourself.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's.
Speaker A:That's the hard part to realize.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You feel like you have to do it by yourself, but you don't.
Speaker A:And that's the thing.
Speaker A:You got to be involved with yourself.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:But you got to be involved with.
Speaker C:Yourself, with others, and then trying to get your benefits.
Speaker C:If you didn't have ptsd, you will have.
Speaker C:I mean, Chef JB can tell you the story about that one.
Speaker C:He tried for 21 years or whatever.
Speaker C:It was 41 years.
Speaker C:A long time.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And a lot of denials.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I went through it Took three and a half years.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So, yeah.
Speaker A:So, yeah, go ahead, jb.
Speaker A:Well, that's some questions.
Speaker B:For a long time.
Speaker B:So we're crazy together, and that's okay.
Speaker B:You know, that's.
Speaker A:That's a great point.
Speaker A:You know, people don't understand that, like, what, you're crazy together.
Speaker A:What does that mean?
Speaker A:It means, like, we can storm in each other's minds and talk about crazy stuff, yell and scream a little bit, get a little intense, shoot some chaos.
Speaker A:Around, and people are like, what is that?
Speaker A:What does that mean?
Speaker A:Well, it means, like, we really need to have these intense conversations so that we can iron out our problems and,.
Speaker C:And maybe never walk in somebody's footsteps.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:No, but you can certainly have some understanding when somebody looks at you.
Speaker C:I know exactly what you're talking.
Speaker C:No, you don't.
Speaker C:Every, every case is different and how you perceive things are different.
Speaker A:That is very true.
Speaker A:And I, I often talk about sitting in a fighting hole right next to your buddy.
Speaker A:He could be watching the sunset, and you're dropping rounds down range because in your right and left lateral limits, the enemy's coming.
Speaker A:But he's also got to watch for the enemy over there, so it's important for him to do his duty.
Speaker A:And he's like, wow, man, the sunset was great.
Speaker A:And you're like, hey, man, I just eliminated.
Speaker A:Yeah, what sunset?
Speaker A:There was no sunset, in my view.
Speaker A:And that's, that's the chaos that exists.
Speaker A:So you can have two people in the same, same situation.
Speaker A:Each one's going to have a different story, each one's going to have a different recollection.
Speaker A:Everybody's going to have a different kind of tool about it.
Speaker A:And so that's true.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And Jim, you, you got frustrated with the system, right?
Speaker A:I mean, obviously the VA is there to help us with so many things, and it does, to a point.
Speaker B:It was unbelievable.
Speaker B:I mean, yeah, the last time I got denied, they came out and said, you know, Nevada state, because I moved to Nevada, I've been denied in Oregon, I've been denied in Oklahoma.
Speaker B:And when I filed a claim, people would work with me.
Speaker B:And in Nevada they had this.
Speaker B:We have, We've, you know, set aside so much money and counselors to work with Nevada vets, and we're gonna help you file a claim.
Speaker B:So they had an office down on Decatur back then.
Speaker B:I went to the office, I said, I've been.
Speaker B:Been denied twice.
Speaker B:I've been trying to do this for 30 plus years.
Speaker B:And he said, oh, that's really great.
Speaker B:Well, here, here's the forms you need to fill out.
Speaker B:And you need to, you know, to your best recollection, fill them out.
Speaker B:And I said, you're not going to help me fill them out?
Speaker B:Oh, no, no, we can't do that.
Speaker B:We, we just have to advise you.
Speaker B:So as you fill them out, bring them in.
Speaker B:I'll look them over.
Speaker B:If I think there's something else needed, we'll do that.
Speaker B:Well, you know, first off, we're veterans, you know, and so I Went home and I worked on some, and then it'd go a couple weeks and I'd work a little bit more.
Speaker B:So six months later, I finally get to a point where I take it back to him and he says, oh yeah, this is okay, we'll send it in.
Speaker B:So he sent it in, we sent it in, and in fact, I remember taking it to the post office and getting it certified, so I knew when they get it.
Speaker B:And about a year later, I don't know, 12, 14 months, I get the denial back and I take it to him.
Speaker B:He looks at it and says, well, nothing else we can do, I guess.
Speaker B:I said, well, I'm done.
Speaker B:This is the third time I'm done.
Speaker B:And then, Jim, you and I worked on some, some projects together, the Pig Outs and stuff and Chili Cook off contest for the vtrc.
Speaker B:And, and I donated my time and my energy because it's a great cause, the vtrc.
Speaker B:And, and you had We Care foundation back then, or.
Speaker B:We Care.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Foundation.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then, you know, I went and came and talked to you and.
Speaker B:And you had Jim, Jim from Minnesota working with you down at Aliante.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I went and talked to him.
Speaker B:He says, they just won't need more clarification.
Speaker B:I said, well, why didn't they say something to me?
Speaker B:He says, it says it right here in the letter.
Speaker B:I said, yeah, I don't know how to read these things, you know.
Speaker B:He says, oh yeah, it's real simple.
Speaker B:You need this.
Speaker B:He said, get a couple of sentences.
Speaker B:It needs to say this.
Speaker B:You got to be a veterans doctor.
Speaker B:I said, yeah, I got a really good report with one.
Speaker B:And he said, get it.
Speaker B:Get her to write this statement for you if she would, and if you don't get it this time, we'll go to arbitration.
Speaker B:Five months later, I get 100 right out of the gate, you know, it just, they just needed more clarification and, and that was it.
Speaker B:But I mean, it was simple, really, as pie.
Speaker B:But knowledge is power.
Speaker B:If you don't have the knowledge, what do you do?
Speaker B:I mean, today I've watched the VSOs work with claimants and they're pretty thorough.
Speaker B:They're, they're very knowledgeable.
Speaker B:I mean, when I first started, the navigational path for the VA was almost impossible to even say the least.
Speaker B:It was just, you know, it was like a minefield, you know, you had to like, trains, trance through it and hope you could get through it and get some stuff down on paper so that you could at least apply, you know, and it was Just.
Speaker B:And then you just got denied.
Speaker B:So, Jim, you saw that when, when you first started going to the.
Speaker B:The va?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, when I first started going to the va, it was in Portland, Oregon, and I switched over to Vancouver, Washington.
Speaker B:It was across the river.
Speaker B:I traveled like 20, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, maybe 25 miles to get across the river into Washington, because the VA there was much smaller and it was easier to navigate.
Speaker B:But it, it, it's like when we first got out, it was, you know, I mean, you were in the military.
Speaker B:You were a baby killer.
Speaker B:You were all these things and, and nobody wore, you know, parts of any kind of uniform like they do today.
Speaker B:I mean, you didn't need more fatigue because you, you didn't want anybody because it wasn't.
Speaker B:Wasn't recognized for anything good, let's put it that way.
Speaker B:People felt so bad and were so prejudice, absolutely prejudiced against military and military service and veterans.
Speaker B:I mean, it was unbelievable.
Speaker C: those days, I was drafted in: Speaker C:So many of them were leaving and going to Canada.
Speaker C:They would not.
Speaker C:I mean, it was really a very.
Speaker C:All the demonstrations.
Speaker C:When I came back with the Weather Underground, that was blowing things up and doing things.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker C:I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Speaker C:And then we came around and I thought, well, we'll never see this again.
Speaker C:And now where are we at?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, it seems, yeah, it seems like it's kind of.
Speaker A:Kind of getting back in that stage.
Speaker A:And, and that's the reason why you created the vtrc, right?
Speaker A:I mean, co making it happen.
Speaker C:I had a relative that was with the National Guard and called up and got blown up in a burn pit, and they sent him home.
Speaker C:I sent him to Germany to treat him, then sent him home, and he went down to the VA to get help.
Speaker C:And the VA says, well, it's not our problem.
Speaker C:That's the Army's problem.
Speaker C:They went back to the army, army says, that's not our problem.
Speaker C:That's the VA's problem.
Speaker C:And nobody took care of him for over two years.
Speaker C:And he got into marijuana for the pain and so forth and then was selling it.
Speaker C:They got caught and a little hicktown prosecutor decided they were going to make an example out of him and gave him five years in prison.
Speaker C:They didn't have veterans courts then.
Speaker C:Just like my friend that we talked about earlier, Aaron, that's in prison in, In Arizona right now.
Speaker A:Ten years.
Speaker C:Ten?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Eric Engdahl was.
Speaker C:He was a policeman in Indiana, moved out here.
Speaker C:He was an airline Pilot.
Speaker C:He served two terms in Vietnam.
Speaker C:I helped him get his benefits.
Speaker C:PTSD vet.
Speaker C:And he got cut off and got out of the car with a gun.
Speaker C:I didn't shoot the guy, but shot in the air to warn him.
Speaker C:And two real left wing prosecutor and judge over in Flagstaff railroaded him.
Speaker C:And when I inquired about veterans court, they don't have veterans court.
Speaker C:I talked to them about PTSD and they don't believe in ptsd.
Speaker C:So right here he is.
Speaker C:Actually, he's a couple years older than I am.
Speaker C:He'll probably die in prison.
Speaker A:Dang.
Speaker C:I mean, that's sad.
Speaker C:He tried to get clemency.
Speaker C:And the judge, this lady judge and lady prosecutor, that's a way left winger.
Speaker C:They made sure he didn't get clemency.
Speaker A:Yeah, those are the.
Speaker A:That those are tough cases.
Speaker A:You know, a lot of people may not believe that this kind of stuff is happening, but there's a lot of unbelievable things that are happening every day just because it's not in front of your face or because it's not something that you can see and tangibly recognize.
Speaker A:And I want to say, you know, PTSD is very rough on us as combat vets because it's an unseen wound.
Speaker A:And, you know, I was talking to my buddy the other day and he was talking about how he feels like, you know, how does anybody believe in this?
Speaker A:How does.
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker A:And it's really a shameful kind of thing in.
Speaker A:In the ultimate thing.
Speaker A:I think a lot of us are coming out and much more comfortable just briefing it out, saying, hey, I'm dealing with this, this and this.
Speaker A:But if you're dealing with it, then that's great.
Speaker A:You know, if you're not, if you're hiding from it, and we talked about that, being alone, you can't do it alone.
Speaker C:That's why the suicide rate is what it is with our veterans.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:Y through vtrc, RJ is an instructor, and I was for some for a while teaching the Safe Talk program.
Speaker C:And it's amazing how many people don't realize the different things to look for, the questions you should ask.
Speaker C:I mean, it's difficult if you see somebody that's depressed and really on that border to look at them and say, are you thinking about killing yourself?
Speaker C:That's not an easy thing to do.
Speaker C:That is not easy, but you better learn how to do it.
Speaker A:That's correct.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Especially for your loved ones.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Well, that's why we started Veterans Transition Resource center to help those vets transitioning.
Speaker C:A lot of the old vets like myself that still have issues and they've never been able to get help.
Speaker C:So we went on the air, we did the show for all those years trying to educate Agent Orange, which we talked about.
Speaker C:Aaron.
Speaker C:Even a lot of our doctors today at the VA don't realize that that's passed on five generations.
Speaker C:It passes through birth.
Speaker C:And I've had a couple doctors look at me, says what I didn't know that well.
Speaker C:It's our job to educate them, and it should be their job to know if they're working for the va.
Speaker C:But those are the things that we went on the air for.
Speaker C:Originally.
Speaker C:We just.
Speaker C:We were on the air, not we didn't have the center.
Speaker C:And then after the first year on the air, we said, we've got to have a place that we can get together with people, help them get their benefits, help them get employed.
Speaker C:You know, we can't be all things to all people at Veterans Transition Resource center, but we can sure affiliate with all kinds of groups to get the job done.
Speaker C:I mean, Denise, our president up north in Reno.
Speaker C:In Reno, I mean, there's there.
Speaker C:She does a fine job in getting benefits and helping these vets in all kinds of ways.
Speaker C:So you've got to affiliate.
Speaker C:You've got to affiliate.
Speaker B:You got to collaborate with other veteran groups.
Speaker B:You can't say, well, we're over here and they're over there.
Speaker B:We all need to work together.
Speaker B:And the biggest thing, Jim, that I'd like to reiterate in your helping veterans is we realized that it wasn't just the veterans, it was their spouses and their families.
Speaker B:Also.
Speaker B:It's like you said, it goes back five generations.
Speaker C:The suicide among the children of these veteran families, that's something we brought out several years ago on.
Speaker C:On the air, and boy, do we catch heck over that.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's something we need to talk about.
Speaker C:I mean, these kids suffer.
Speaker B:The more you talk about it, the rest.
Speaker B:The better it gets recognized, the more.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker B:Help we can give them and a way out, you know, all you got to do is give them hope.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you got to have a battle buddy.
Speaker B:You do.
Speaker A:You can't, you know, and.
Speaker A:And sometimes it's better to have more than one.
Speaker A:I have so many battle buddies just because I. I just love talking to veterans, dealing with them all the time.
Speaker A:And we do ask those hard questions, and we do talk about suicide.
Speaker A:We do talk about these things in warrior groups.
Speaker A:And, hey, you know, how is your life going and what's going on with it?
Speaker A:What are you doing to take steps forward in a positive direction.
Speaker A:Those things are super important.
Speaker A:But also what are you, what's your chaos?
Speaker A:You know, we got to ask that.
Speaker B:Question, how you feeling today?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:How's your, how's your drinking, your drug know, get, get into some of these harder to weed, weed out questions.
Speaker A:But I feel like we're moving so fast in so many different directions.
Speaker A:It's very difficult to kind of slow down and take the time to catch that.
Speaker A:Sometimes people just like, I don't wanna, I don't want to ask this question because I know the answer and you know, it's, and I think that's, I think that, I think that happens way more than you think.
Speaker A:And it's, and it's sad that that's the case, but we sometimes need to ask those hard, hard questions.
Speaker C:There's long term effects.
Speaker C:I mean, you may go along for 10 or 15 or 20 years and you're living your life and you're working and you're raising your family and then have something happen that can bring that to the surface.
Speaker C:And again, Agent Orange is an example that.
Speaker C:Lose one of your children to Agent Orange and let me tell you, the impact that can have on you.
Speaker C:And it happens, it does happen.
Speaker C:And a lot of these people don't know.
Speaker C:Well, first of all, they don't know that if they had Agent Orange, you better watch your children.
Speaker C:If there's something that's happening that's unusual, it's, it's not hereditary.
Speaker C:It's just, you better check it out because it does pass on.
Speaker C:I know I've lost a couple of my kids already and it's a, it's a direct result of Agent Orange.
Speaker C:But to, to try to take that child to the VA or try to get.
Speaker C:That's almost impossible today, definitely.
Speaker B:So you think the VA is going to start working in that direction or.
Speaker D:Maybe.
Speaker C:I think that they hope it goes away.
Speaker C:Yeah, you know, it's, I mean, I remember if you remember some years ago, all the vets that died in Phoenix, we broke that story here on our, on our show on Veterans Talk Forgotten Promise.
Speaker C:And I'm here to tell you we caught hell over that.
Speaker C:But that needed to be explored, exposed.
Speaker C:And a lot of those veterans that died were because their caregivers didn't know how to get them help.
Speaker C:And when they get turned down, say, well, you're gonna have to wait 60 or 90 days or whatever.
Speaker C:A lot of them died.
Speaker C:Now currently, if we don't get, I think it's 30 days.
Speaker C:If we don't get help, they have to refer you out to civilian medicine.
Speaker C:But we're having situations in civilian medicine now.
Speaker C:They only pay those doctors a fraction and they don't pay them on time.
Speaker C:So there's a number of these doctors that aren't.
Speaker A:That aren't willing to help.
Speaker A:No, that's correct.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:They don't want to treat vets.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Want to help.
Speaker C:I mean, I'll give you just a quick story.
Speaker C:Several years ago, I was outsourced dental and I went in and they set me back in a room.
Speaker C:I sat there for an hour and a half, nobody came in.
Speaker C:And I finally got up and walked out to the front desk and I says, we're going to have to reschedule this.
Speaker C:I can't sit in a cooped up in a room for an hour and a half.
Speaker C:And on the other side of the divider, a gal chirped up and she said, oh, that's one of those veterans.
Speaker C:They think everything's free to them.
Speaker C:Well, that's the attitude with some of these people.
Speaker C:I wonder if they know how free.
Speaker C:I wonder if they know how much of a price we have paid.
Speaker C:Yeah, but that's part of educating.
Speaker C:We have to get on the air.
Speaker C:We've got to do podcasts like this and shows like we did for so many years.
Speaker C:We've got to educate.
Speaker B:Definitely when we signed that dotted line to go in the military, we signed over that we were willing to do anything, even our life, for the love of our country.
Speaker C:That's correct, yes.
Speaker C:Well, I think particularly now you see this thing going on with Iran as an example, that brings back memories to a lot of our vets.
Speaker C:I've had several calls and I'm able to talk to these guys, but it brings back memories.
Speaker C:And we got a whole new batch of vets that are going to be coming home that we better be able to take care of and tell them that we appreciate their service, don't spit at them, you know, don't attack them.
Speaker C:And when I see the marching and the left wing radicals doing some of the things they're doing, and again, I'm not talking politics, Republican or Democrat, I'm just talking about the action of, of our people that march against our veterans.
Speaker C:I mean, I don't understand it.
Speaker C:I'll never understand it.
Speaker A:Definitely, definitely.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, it's really hard to watch anything that, that deters from the fact that this country's free and it's been so free that you, you know, there's no other country where the, the line goes way outside the embassy.
Speaker A:You can go down any country and walk down any street, and the only one that's going to have a line in it is going to be the American Embassy.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, every, every other one's quiet as heck, but, you know, the American Embassy lines from hell.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And that's because people are, people are, people are actually dying to get in here, you know, and it's, that's, that's just the way it is.
Speaker A:And, you know, our borders aren't, you know, being in, you know, challenged for any reason other than the fact that America has such great opportunities and dreams that, that we, as most Americans, we take a look at it and don't really know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where those, where those dreams start and end.
Speaker C:We have the right to criticize it.
Speaker C:That's all right.
Speaker C:But we, if, if we have the right to criticize it and we're knocking our country, it's so bad.
Speaker C:Why do so many people want to come here?
Speaker C:I've been in other parts of the world, like all of you have, and I can tell you this is the greatest country in the world.
Speaker C:There's no question about that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Do we have faults?
Speaker C:Of course we do.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker C:You know, it's.
Speaker C:Again, we've got to educate, we've got to get back to tomorrows.
Speaker C:We got to get back to our young people understanding history.
Speaker C:If you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you're going.
Speaker C:And when I came back from Vietnam and I saw higher education being indoctrinated, foreign governments investing in our higher education, I just shook my head.
Speaker C:Now those people are now the parents and grandparents of what you see on the street marching.
Speaker C:So is it any surprise that this is happening?
Speaker C:Not to me, it's not.
Speaker B:Nope.
Speaker B:You know, getting back to the va, though, Jim, I, I gotta say that I've seen a lot of changes in the last 50 some years.
Speaker B:I mean, when I first started going, you know, if you went to the VA for doctor's appointment, you were there all day.
Speaker B:And it wasn't to see the doctor, it was to wait to see a doctor.
Speaker B:And you know, I. Nowadays you go, they got to see you within 15 minutes.
Speaker B:Or you can walk up and say, hey, my appointment was at this time.
Speaker B:And they go, okay.
Speaker B:And they fast track you along.
Speaker B:It's like, it's unbelievable.
Speaker B:And the hospital here in Las Vegas is one of the top three in, in the country.
Speaker B:They, you know, you go, and you know, me I spend some time in the hospital about once a year, every couple years at least.
Speaker B:And you know, they have suites, all the rooms are suites.
Speaker B:They have a bathroom and lounge chairs and TVs, and, and I mean, it's, it's not the eight guys in a ward shoot, you know, sharing one bathroom.
Speaker B:And you know, I mean, it's just, we've seen a lot of changes and I think that they're, they're coming up with their standards greatly.
Speaker B:Are they perfect yet?
Speaker B:That's pretty hard to be perfect when you come to health care.
Speaker C:I just, it's an understaffed, overwhelmed system.
Speaker C:There's no question about that.
Speaker C:And there's a big turnover of doctors.
Speaker C:I mean, I've said 100 times they should install a revolving door.
Speaker C:They've got to figure out a way to retain these doctors and keep them, got to take care of these guys.
Speaker C:But there's a big turnover.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And you know, some doctors, they stay and, and, and give back and, but there's, there's a point in their give and take also.
Speaker B:So, you know, and when they leave, who's going to fill their way?
Speaker B:Their place, you know?
Speaker C:Well, our community outreach program is wonderful.
Speaker C:Those people that work there, most of them are veterans, right.
Speaker C:But they really, really work to refer you out and get you the closest to home.
Speaker C:They really do a wonderful job.
Speaker C:And that's due to this recent administration of a couple of years ago or a couple of terms ago that set it up that if you don't get care within, I think it's a 30 day period.
Speaker A:Yes, that 30 day.
Speaker C:Correct.
Speaker C:But they have to refer you out to civilian medicine.
Speaker C:But if we don't start taking care of those doctors that are taking those community outreach veterans, if we don't start taking care of them and paying them on time and paying them reasonably again, we're going to fail again.
Speaker A:Yep, definitely.
Speaker A:You know, and I talk about the VA as being, you know, it's, it's, it's got what it needs to take care of you medically.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But outside of that, there's so much more you need in your life and you're wondering where that, where that happens.
Speaker A:That's why the VTRC exists.
Speaker A:All these other organizations that I'm part of, you know, the PTSD foundation of America, War Built foundation, all these different foundations, that's where the fillers kind of settle in.
Speaker A:But I think our veterans aren't necessarily used to just breaking away from that thought.
Speaker A:The VA can handle everything.
Speaker A:It cannot and it doesn't.
Speaker A:But The VTRC is a good place to start to, you know, defining that, especially in the Vegas and Reno areas, you know, getting your benefits, getting you, you know, some just help and support, whatever that might be.
Speaker A:And, And Jim, you, you started this.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, you and rj.
Speaker C:I started it.
Speaker C:And then two weeks after I got it going the show, RJ came on as a guest on the show and I never got rid of him.
Speaker A:And I'm gonna have RJ here in about two weeks, I think.
Speaker A:But yeah, he'll be.
Speaker C:He's an Air force.
Speaker C:He was a helicopter pilot.
Speaker A:We won't hold that against him.
Speaker C:Oh, no, no, I know, but he's been all over.
Speaker C:He's.
Speaker C:He knows his stuff.
Speaker C:He's.
Speaker C:He's done a great job with me.
Speaker C:And Again, we're a 501c3 public charity, no salaries.
Speaker C:This is all volunteer, every bit of it.
Speaker C:As a matter of fact, when covet hit particularly, we were taking money out of our pockets to keep this alive and keep it going.
Speaker C:And thank God we've helped a lot of vets.
Speaker C:If you've helped one, that's, that's great.
Speaker C:But we've helped a lot of veterans, and if we can't do it, we can refer them to somebody that can.
Speaker C:And that's the key.
Speaker C:They.
Speaker C:They've got to know they're not alone.
Speaker C:They're not by themselves.
Speaker C:There's help out there for them.
Speaker B:Yes, most definitely.
Speaker A:Definitely.
Speaker A:Well, what else, what else you, what else you got, Jim?
Speaker A:Because then we'll, we'll turn it over to JB for JB's kitchen, if, if that's in a little bit here.
Speaker C:Well, I, I think basically that we need to collaborate, get together with different organizations.
Speaker C:There isn't any organization that can be all things to all people.
Speaker C:So you've got to.
Speaker C:To collaborate and affiliate with others and be able to help those veterans and their families.
Speaker C:That's just as important.
Speaker C:Remember the families and for.
Speaker A:As well as first responders.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, you bet.
Speaker C:You bet.
Speaker C:We've had a lot of them through a safe Talk program and.
Speaker C:You bet.
Speaker C:So let's turn it over to jp.
Speaker B:Okay, so a few things that I want to talk to our listeners about today is if you have a servant heart and you're a veteran and you'd like to come on board even if you're not a veteran, come on board.
Speaker B:At the vtrc, we're looking for some volunteers that will help us run the daily schedules in the office.
Speaker B:We're also looking for VSOs or certified advocate in doing claims and talking to veterans about their claims.
Speaker B:We have an office that you can use, new computers, new printer, everything that you'll need to help the veterans in filing their claims.
Speaker B:So we're looking for some of those also.
Speaker B:It's important to give back in the near future.
Speaker B:In November, we're back with Pancakes for Patriots with the honor flight out at the Eagles.
Speaker B:We just had our pig out there a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker B:We do that yearly and we're open.
Speaker B:I mean, if somebody wants to help veterans in a certain way and want to come and talk with us, we're always willing to sit down with them and see how we can help or if we can collaborate with your group to, to reach out and touch veterans or their families or their spouses.
Speaker C:How do they get a hold of you?
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:You can leave me a message on that number or you can messenger me on that, text me, I'll get back to you within 24 hours and we can see if we can be a good fit.
Speaker B:You know, like you said, Jim, you.
Speaker C:Can call the center.
Speaker C:You can call the center.
Speaker C: -: Speaker C: -: Speaker C:That's in Las Vegas.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And I, you can always watch the show.
Speaker B:We're on every Tuesday at 1:00 clock on our website.
Speaker B:And our website is.
Speaker C:VTRC US.
Speaker A:Yeah, VT RC US www backslash.
Speaker A:Backslash.
Speaker A:VTRC US.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And we're, we're working on getting everything up to date on it.
Speaker B:So that's a good thing.
Speaker B:You know, it's, it's work in progress.
Speaker B:It's always something that you're working on.
Speaker B:Websites love it.
Speaker C:And we cover the state of Nevada.
Speaker C:We've got an office up in Reno, our president, so we, we're able to help you in any part of the state.
Speaker C:Again, pick up the phone and call us or go on our site.
Speaker C:If we can't help you, we'll refer you to somebody that can.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And if you're in a remote area, if you call Denise Davies up out of Reno, she can do it.
Speaker B:Zoom.
Speaker B:She can do it.
Speaker B:Whatever you need.
Speaker B:You don't have to be in her office to get it done, but she does a lot of zoom.
Speaker B:She's very prolific in getting cases filed and winning some cases.
Speaker B:Like I said, knowledge is power.
Speaker B:So it's real important.
Speaker B:One of the things is if you're not happy with, if you filed a claim and feel you were unjustly treated or they didn't get your true prognosis that you need to reiterate to them or refile for them.
Speaker B:She can help you with that.
Speaker C:Also, and let me interject here also, jb you have to be proactive.
Speaker C:You can't come in and drop the papers on.
Speaker C:They say, call me when it's done.
Speaker C:You have to be proactive.
Speaker C:And you can't give up.
Speaker C:Don't give up.
Speaker C:If you get frustrated and give up and quit, well, you don't have your benefits.
Speaker C:And if you deserve the benefits.
Speaker C:You know, one of the biggest excuses I've heard through all these years is a veteran when you're talking to them about their benefits.
Speaker C:Well, I. I don't want to take up somebody else's.
Speaker C:Yeah, bull.
Speaker C:Those are your benefits.
Speaker C:You earned them.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:You do them.
Speaker C:Go after them.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I often contribute to a train that's got all these empty seats.
Speaker A:It's going there anyway.
Speaker A:They've already, you know, it's there.
Speaker A:I'd rather put you in a seat and have to pull you out of it than actually leave that seat go blank.
Speaker A:Because you're just looking at that seat going, that's for somebody else.
Speaker A:That's for somebody else.
Speaker A:And everyone's saying that, you know, and There's, I imagine, 10 people looking at one seat going, that's for somebody else.
Speaker A:And there's 20 seats behind you.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah,.
Speaker C:Good analogy.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you know what?
Speaker B:It's good to be part of a veteran community.
Speaker B:The camaraderie is just like when we were in the military.
Speaker B:You know, we had your back, we had our brother's back, they had our back.
Speaker B:And in the vtrc, it's a lot of that.
Speaker B:You know, I. I call on an Aaron or Jim or somebody to help me with certain things.
Speaker B:You know, Jim, I called upon him to help me with my claim, and lo and behold, I got my claim.
Speaker B:And let me tell you, when you get those kind of claims justified and get your actual amount, it's life changing.
Speaker B:I mean, for myself, I get it for the rest of my life.
Speaker B:It's the, you know, I have a disabling disease that I will have until the day I die.
Speaker B:And hopefully, if I die of those things, my wife will be able to get something, you know, because she deserves it.
Speaker B:What's up with me?
Speaker C:And, you know, DIC is something that a lot of people don't talk that much about, and we need to educate on that.
Speaker C:And again, if.
Speaker C:If the husband dies of a Service connected disability.
Speaker C:As an example.
Speaker C:My sister gets DIC living in Colorado.
Speaker C:Her husband was Navy Blue.
Speaker C:Water Navy back then.
Speaker C:They weren't able to get Agent Orange benefits, although they found out later on that the water they were drinking and the filtration system didn't take the Agent Orange out of it.
Speaker C:I was, I helped him get his, one of the first to get his VA benefits.
Speaker C:And he passed away six months later and she gets dic.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:So, you know, one thing you got.
Speaker B:To look at, Jim, is Agent Orange had, Agent Orange had to be transported to Vietnam.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And they didn't transport Agent Orange in planes across the world.
Speaker B:They put them on ships, mostly Navy ships.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And you know, if you handled it there, they leaked.
Speaker B:They.
Speaker A:Yeah, they didn't, they didn't have the, the operation Risk Management according to plan back in Vietnam days.
Speaker A:You know, they didn't, they didn't handle it with gloves and all the things that you need to.
Speaker A:And respirators and, you know, so obviously those things have really caused a lot of damage to the body and a lot of these veterans are just living with it without actually getting seen and getting the process.
Speaker C:But understand something, Aaron.
Speaker C:Agent Orange was not the only chemical.
Speaker C:No, that was one of, I think nine.
Speaker A:Nine.
Speaker A:That's on the, on the list.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Agent White, Agent Purple.
Speaker C:I mean, the result, it was the most effective.
Speaker C:And as an engineer unit that I was a radio operator and we stored that stuff on our compound.
Speaker C:When the barrels got empty, we cut them in half and we were bathing him and barbecuing in them.
Speaker C:We didn't know.
Speaker B:Yeah, isn't that.
Speaker C:And they knew, they knew about Agent Orange because it was used in Korea.
Speaker C:Yeah, Using the DMZ in Korea.
Speaker B:And you know what I got, I got an older cousin and he was in Vietnam and he was loading Agent Orange on the planes.
Speaker B:The, the drops and stuff, washing the planes, patching the bullet holes on the plane.
Speaker B:You know, it was everywhere and right.
Speaker B:You know, it's like you got it, you got it.
Speaker B:You're around it, you're gonna get it.
Speaker B:Like you said, you were barbecuing in the barrels, for God's sakes.
Speaker C:But more importantly, now you go forward, watch your kids.
Speaker C:I said that before.
Speaker C:Watch your children.
Speaker C:It passes on through birth.
Speaker C:It's passed on five generations.
Speaker C:And if something really fishy, health wise with one of your children, check it out.
Speaker C:You really have to keep an eye on this.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Well, Jim, thanks a lot for being on deck and, and jb, thanks for being the co host and making this happen.
Speaker A:We're gonna pull Brian Colburn on deck to do the, to do the feed drops.
Speaker A:And feed drops is basically, you know, his, his podcast, Feed Drops that.
Speaker A:That checks out podcasts and rates them and does all this cool stuff.
Speaker A:And Brian comes on deck to kind of go through the podcast and thoroughly give us pointers.
Speaker A:Brian Colburn.
Speaker A:How you doing, brother?
Speaker A:United States Marine, sitradio.com He is the producer of the show.
Speaker D:I'm doing well.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker D:And Jim, thank you for sharing your stories and your experiences.
Speaker D:It's.
Speaker D:You're right, people don't think about the 60s any longer, the.
Speaker D:The early 70s any longer, because we've been at war as a nation for so long.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker D:It's, It's a shame.
Speaker D:It really is.
Speaker D:I, I write a piece almost every year about the bombing of the barracks in Beirut.
Speaker D:And that was a pivotal moment in my life.
Speaker D:Some people have said, oh, that was your 9 11.
Speaker D:But that's what really drilled into my head, that I was going to be a Marine and I was going to make a difference and I was going to defend those who needed defending.
Speaker D:And it's good to think back and it's good to remember and thank you for coming on and sharing that story.
Speaker D:Now, as for the feed drops portion, you got pen and paper ready?
Speaker D:Because I've got notes.
Speaker B:You got notes.
Speaker D:I, I'm kidding.
Speaker D:You can watch back.
Speaker B:Is there going to be a test, Brian?
Speaker D:You know what?
Speaker D:There will be a test.
Speaker D:And that test is every week at one o', clock, right here, live.
Speaker A:Yeah, we, we.
Speaker A:We improve, right?
Speaker D:Absolutely.
Speaker D:Absolutely, Chief.
Speaker D:Sometimes you'll ask a question and then answer it, and you've got two other people in the room, ask for their perspective of your question.
Speaker D:You can always come back and reframe or realign to get your point across, but that makes the show a little more dynamic.
Speaker D:Not that what you're doing is bad.
Speaker D:You're making valid statements, asking valid questions and giving solid answers.
Speaker D:But to make the show a little more dynamic, let somebody else pitch in first.
Speaker D:You know what?
Speaker D:One thing that was touched on that I think really could have helped our younger veterans who are trying to get into the VA system was a comparison of what it was like in the 60s compared to what it's like now.
Speaker D:We know things aren't great now, but in comparison, I mean, I can pull up an app on my phone and send a message to my doctor, and within 24 hours, I'm gonna have an answer.
Speaker D:Things are pretty darn good, right now especially when you do that comparison.
Speaker D:And then lastly, I was sitting here giggling like a 14 year old boy when we're going to use acronyms like dick.
Speaker D:Let's let everyone know what DIC means, okay?
Speaker D:Oh yeah, yeah, Veterans, or we may have veterans on here that are aware of these Dependency pendant benefits, Indemnity compensation.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker D:And that will, you know, stop the 14 year boy and me giggling when exactly, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah, what's it called?
Speaker A:What's it, what's, what's the acronym stand for again?
Speaker A:Because I don't know.
Speaker C:Dependent Indemnity Compensation, Compensation.
Speaker D:Okay, you know what, on that note, talk about it for a second.
Speaker A:Yeah, talk about it a little bit.
Speaker A:What it, what it represents.
Speaker C:Actually it, it's for the spouse.
Speaker C:If you have a service connected disability and you die from that, your wife is qualified to, to get dic.
Speaker C:I think it's up to what, fourteen hundred dollars a month now, tax free.
Speaker C:That could be a house payment or help feed you.
Speaker C:It's, it's something that's critical that will, and there's certain qualifying things you have to have, but it's there and it's, it's important.
Speaker B:And the real important thing is we need to talk to our spouses.
Speaker B:So when we're close to taking the bridge and the long dirt nap, they ask the doctor, you know, because some doctors will say I have COPD and I might die, you know, lung disease.
Speaker D:And they.
Speaker B:Have a heart attack because I can't breathe.
Speaker B:Then what's the real cause of my death?
Speaker B:Heart or because of my lungs?
Speaker C:It has to be on your death certificate.
Speaker C:It has to show that it was a service connected.
Speaker C:And the other problem, and you've touched on it, JB is the old ducks hold things tight to the vest.
Speaker C:I can't tell you how many widows we've had coming there for benefits that don't even know where to find a DD214, much less what is it.
Speaker C:That's your discharge paper and that has all the information on it.
Speaker C:Don't hold things tight to the vest.
Speaker C:Tell your ladies, tell your spouse.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:That's so critical.
Speaker D:And, and something else, especially with dic.
Speaker D:Veterans are not the easiest people to get along with, love, take care of, live with.
Speaker D:And it is something that you can give to them once you are gone.
Speaker D:And so if you're unaware of what it is, as the veteran, learn about it it and make sure your spouse is educated about it.
Speaker D:And again, like you just said, make sure you have a file folder, digital copies, everything you need of every ID card, letter, everything.
Speaker D:Because we.
Speaker D:We know there's challenges in dealing with government agencies from time to time, and having to find and locate a document can be a burden, especially when your spouse is grieving.
Speaker C:What's your burial benefits?
Speaker C:I mean, you can be.
Speaker C:As a veteran, if you've spent six months or more on active duty, you qualify to be buried in any of our veteran cemeteries.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Make arrangements for that.
Speaker D:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And your wife can be buried with you.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:At no charge.
Speaker D:My mother's buried with my father.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker D:Which is.
Speaker D:Which is awesome.
Speaker D:But that's.
Speaker D:Those are the three main points I had for today.
Speaker D:So I appreciate you allowing me to come on Chief.
Speaker D:And you guys keep crushing it every week.
Speaker D:I've been saying this for 270, some 280 some episodes now.
Speaker A:292.
Speaker A:This is episode 292.
Speaker D:Every week it just gets better, stronger, bigger, better, faster, stronger, as I like to say.
Speaker D:Appreciate you.
Speaker D:We'll see you next week.
Speaker A:Hey, thanks, brother.
Speaker A:Appreciate you, bro.
Speaker C:Nice meeting you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, this is.
Speaker A:This has been a great show, Jim.
Speaker A:Thanks a lot for coming on.
Speaker A:And jb, we worked it out.
Speaker A:Just so you know, this is.
Speaker A:This is the VTRC studio for.
Speaker A:For the Combat Vet Vision.
Speaker A:This is a home.
Speaker A:Home of Combat Bed Vision.
Speaker A:And, uh, JB had to, you know, we had to kick him out of his chair today, and he.
Speaker A:He went home and he got on from there.
Speaker A:But it makes it.
Speaker A:This podcast can be done anywhere any, anyhow, anyway, even if it's not in the studio.
Speaker A:I could have popped on my phone and did it.
Speaker A:Anyway.
Speaker A:Brian Colburn managed to make this happen.
Speaker C:He.
Speaker A:He puts it up and, And Jim, thanks a lot for.
Speaker A:For having the VTRC and pushing for.
Speaker A:For the studio to exist and for.
Speaker C:The show to exist, and RJ's going to be coming on in a couple of weeks.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker B:And if you're listening to this and you'd like to be.
Speaker B:You're a veteran, you like to be on our show, or if you work with veterans and want to be on our show and talk about how you help veterans, we'd love to talk from you.
Speaker B:Talk to you or hear from you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because this is the resource center, Veterans Transition Resource center.
Speaker A:And it's, you know, we need to have those resources.
Speaker A:And if you, you know, this is a library of resources as.
Speaker A:As they come.
Speaker A:And that's why we're trying to get a hold of veterans.
Speaker A:We're trying to help them out, wherever that might be.
Speaker A:I want to say thank you to the PTSD foundation of America.
Speaker A:You know, I do three warrior groups a week on that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Speaker A:Get a hold of me if you want to be part of that warrior built foundation for vocational recreational support for our combat vets and a lot of race.
Speaker A:Yeah, to get a hold of me, you could do it right here on the show anytime.
Speaker A:Anyway, I put my number out there all the time.
Speaker A:It's all over my, my, my social media.
Speaker A:So you can hit me up on that Aaron Q. Siebert, but you can, you can find me at aaron, aaron aq, sebert, yahoo.com or that's my number one email.
Speaker A:But I use.
Speaker A:So many other emails are going to come into.
Speaker A:I don't have them all memorized.
Speaker A:But you can hit me up anytime, anywhere, almost on all social medias.
Speaker A:If you look up Aaron Q. Siebert, it'll come up.
Speaker A:Or Combat Vet Vision, it'll come up as well.
Speaker A:And you can watch different shows.
Speaker A:If you're a veteran that needs to relate to somebody, these are going to have relatable shows to you and your, your situation.
Speaker A:So it's been awesome.
Speaker A:It's a great experience.
Speaker A:Chef, any last words?
Speaker B:Just I wish everybody wonderful times and bon appetit.
Speaker A:Jim, any last words?
Speaker C:Have a great Memorial Day.
Speaker A:Memorial Day is coming up Saturday.
Speaker C:Saturday, actually.
Speaker C:Monday.
Speaker C:Yeah, Monday, but it's Memorial Day weekend coming up.
Speaker C:So, you know, remember, remember our vets.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Just take the time to kind of, kind of have a memory of them.
Speaker A:And if you don't have a memory, ask somebody, ask a vet to give you a memory and they'll take the time to explain something that they did that was important.
Speaker A:And that's always, you know, if you say thank you to your, thank you for your service to me, I take the time to kind of educate you a little bit about my service.
Speaker A:So you know what you're thinking.
Speaker A:And that's just me.
Speaker A:Hey, until next time.
Speaker A:That's all I got.
Speaker A:Strength and honor.
Speaker B:Out, out.
Speaker A:The only way and we.
Speaker B:Need nothing more.
Speaker A:The only way Together forever.
Speaker B:That's for sure.
