August 3, 2024 • 30 mins
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Jim Whaley, Ret. Lt. Col. & CEO of Mission Roll Call, who discusses a new nationwide survey of veterans that looked at the issues they are most concerned about before the upcoming election, including access to health care and veteran homelessness. Two-time Purple Heart recipient and America’s Warrior Partnership Advisory Council Member Ret. Lt. Col. Daniel Gade also checks in ahead of Purple Heart Day to discuss the injuries he sustained fighting overseas, how he overcame the challenge of losing a leg, and how AWP is working to prevent veteran suicide and assist veterans in integrating back into their communities.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues impacting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Here's Ryan Gorman.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks so much for joining us here on iHeartRadio Communities.
I'm Ryan Gorman, and we have a couple of really
important conversations lined up for you. In a moment, we'll
talk to an organization giving voice to millions of veterans nationwide.
And then ahead of Purple Heart Day this Wednesday, we'll
talk to a two time Purple Heart recipient about the
injuries he sustained fighting for our country and the different
(00:29):
ways the organization he represents, America's Warrior Partnership, is working
to prevent veterans suicide and help veterans integrate back into
their communities. Right now, to get things started, I'm joined
by retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jim Whaley, the CEO
of Mission Role Call, which you can learn more about
at Mission Rolecall dot org. Colonel Whaley, thank you so
(00:50):
much for takeing a few minutes to come on the show,
and let's begin with an overview of the work Mission
Role Call does for veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Sure well, we saw a need for making sure that
the voices of veterans, their families, caregivers was heard not
only by you that reach our audience, the American people,
but also for elected officials both at the state and
federal level. It's about eighteen million veterans in our country.
Half of those.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Are not associated with any Veterans Support organization or the
VA and their voices should be heard and so that's
will help amplify the voices of those who have signed
up to defend our country.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
How has your organization grown and how have you been
able to better serve veterans by making sure their voices
their needs are heard by those who can make a
real difference.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, it continues to grow every day. We're apolitical, so
we don't filter anyone's opinion. We don't send out leading
polls to try to get the answer that we want
because we want to hear from veterans from all walks
of life, share that information with the press in the
(02:02):
media as well as other veterans so that they can
share that with their elected officials, so we can affect
change in what.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Let's talk about the poll your organization conducted of veterans
across the country to get a sense of what issues
are important to them ahead of this upcoming election. What
did you find?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Well, I think the first thing that is astounding to
me that of the hundreds or close to thousands people
that we interviewed, ninety six percent of their registered to vote.
So when you think about the general American public and
then compare that with veterans and how many are registered
to vote and plan on voting, that's an extreme number.
(02:46):
And it's a great number because it shows that veterans
have a passion to have their voices heard. But your
specific question about what's important to them, and one of
those important things, and too top important ones are veteran benefits.
To make sure that veterans are receiving the benefits that
(03:06):
they should be receiving, and that goes hand in hand
with number two, which is healthcare access. There's a lot
of veterans that have served their country admirably, some of
them with disabilities that cannot access healthcare because the v
(03:27):
is not you know there. They have static buildings, right,
they have hospitals throughout the country, but that doesn't reach everybody.
If you're in a rural location, you may not be
able to get to that hospital. So we've we've been
listening to our veterans and overwhelming what veterans want is
to be care where they live and work, which should
(03:49):
not be a surprise to the VA, but somehow they
simply do not understand that.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
And then the other.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Pieces which scores very high, and what they want to
talk about, what they want addressed in homelessness. On any
given night, we have thirty five thousand veterans that are
homeless and that is just an embarrassment for our country.
That needs to be remedied and that to be known
(04:17):
and we want it addressed in this upcoming election by
both partners.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined now by retired US Army Lieutenant
Colonel Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Role Call, which you
can learn more about and support at Mission Rolecall dot org.
I want to focus in on veteran homelessness for a moment.
This is something that this country has spent a lot
of time in resources trying to deal with. Yet where
(04:42):
are we in that battle to reduce those numbers? Are
we making significant progress?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, unfortunately, the numbers aren't going in the direction we want.
There's been a seven point five percent increase since twenty
twenty two, largest surge in twelve years, so the numbers
are going in the wrong direction. There's a number of
local organizations that help veterans homelessness in different states. So
(05:15):
there's a number of organizations that Unfortunately I can't go
through all of them, but I do believe one of
the things that we're seeing and hearing from veterans is
we shouldn't be surprised by this number because in the
front end, so while service members are in active duty,
(05:36):
so these are current active duty people that serve in
the Army, the Marines, the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard,
twenty four percent of them ryan have food insecurity issues.
So food insecurity issues means they don't know where their
next meal is going to come from, or they don't
(05:58):
have the funds to be able to buy nutritious meals.
So that really is financial insecurity, right, That's just that
food insecurity is financial insecurity. This is in the statistic
that my organization has come up with. This is a
statistic that the Department of Defense, if anyone googles it,
will find. So we shouldn't be surprised if twenty four percent,
(06:22):
nearly a quarter of active duty military have financial insecurity issues.
We shouldn't be surprised that when they leave service that
financial insecurity is following them. So and coupled with the
fact that we really do not do a good job
on helping veterans transition to civilian life, you add those
(06:45):
things to together and now we see the numbers that
we're seeing with homelessness. So it's a significant problem and
the DoD and the VA need to work together to
address that issue. Of services do a wonderful job on
taking people from every walk of life and bringing them
(07:06):
into an organization and having them part of a world
class team that is the finest fighting force in the world.
What they do a terrible job in is making sure
that when they're getting ready to leave that they do
a good job to help them find a job. And
we shouldn't be surprised that when veterans have a difficult
(07:28):
time finding a job, that that's eventually going to affect recruitment.
So right now all the branches are suffering from recruitment issues.
They can't get the people that they need to join
the military. Well, it doesn't take a rocket science to
figure out if well twenty five percent of them twenty
four are not being paid to the point where they
(07:49):
can be financially secure and knowing where their next meal
is troubled with the fact that many of them now
can't find jobs on the way out, why would you
urge your son and daughter to join the military.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I'm also wondering if the other issue that you brought up,
access to healthcare, being able to get the care that
they need, either physically or mentally, with mental health access,
if that's another component to all of this, whether it's
the homelessness issue or just the general struggles that so
many veterans are facing when they come home.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Absolutely, and that is a significant coupling, a multiplier to
this problem. So when you see veterans having trouble with
getting the health care they need, when you see veterans
struggling with post traumatic stress or any number of issues,
coupled with the fact that all the other issues that
(08:48):
we have, you could see why people would be reluctant
to join the military, or why coaches and mentors and
counselors are not steering young men and women to the military.
So the Department of the Defense needs to realize, right,
huge building, lots of people, a lot of smart people
(09:09):
working there, need to realize that the VA effects recruitment issues,
and I don't think they've made that corollary connection to
the point where they're really working together in a thoughtful
way to make sure that the situation is addressed. You
(09:30):
can't they can't work in a vacuum. They have to
look at this holistically. The VA has to come to
grips that they have to figure out how to get
healthcare where people are allowing them to go to civilian
doctors and making that process easier. They have to think
about being better stewards of three hundred billion dollars. There
(09:54):
shouldn't be any problems in the VA with a budget
of three hundred billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Gorman with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jim Whaley, the
CEO of Mission Role Call, which you can learn more
about and support at Mission rollcall dot org. Last thing
I want to touch on veteran suicide. A number of
different variables going into that problem that we continue to
see persist in this country. Talk to us about the
work your organization is doing to help prevent veteran suicide.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Well, thank you, Ron, That's an important topic and no
one is proud of seventeen to twenty plus veterans every
day taking their lives for a myriad of reasons, and
those numbers have not dropped even though there's been a
lot of resources devoted to it. I think one thing
(10:44):
is if you continue to do the same thing and
hope for a different outcome, then you need to relook that.
So obviously the current process that is doing is not working.
They need they need to established collaboration and provide resources
(11:05):
to nonprofits that are in the field that are actually
doing great work in this regard. I think about Avalon nonprofit,
I think about a number of other nonprofits that are
really doing some wonderful work on traumatic brain injury and
things of that nature. So they need to look at
(11:27):
ways to collaborate at the local level and regional level,
and they have to be open to change, and that's important.
I think the other thing is is that, uh, the
VA needs to understand that this problem is a stain
on our country. It's it's an embarrassment not to mention,
(11:52):
an absolute travesty of thinking about all these young men
and women that have taken their lives in the prime
of their lives in many cases, and we need to
we need to fix it, and it would be great
to see a proposal from either party as we go
into this election year of how we're going to fix that,
not hyperbole, how are we actually going to do it.
(12:14):
How do we put a national effort under way to
make sure that veterans make a successful tradition transition to society.
I would tell you that every veteran I've met and
worked with want to continue to serve their country. They
want to make an impact, and when they leave the military,
that's the one thing that they miss, and so we
(12:36):
need to find a way to make sure that we
put them and give them a new mission. And Lord knows,
we have a lot of things that we can put
them to that would would benefit society. So I hope
that we really give this the attention that it deserves.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
So you gather all of this information from veterans all
across the country, their concerns and all of that, and
then this information, what are some of the ways that
you utilize it or make sure that those who are
in those positions to enact change that they have access
to it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Well, we great question.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
What we do is we share that with the media
such as yourself, We share that with elected officials at
at the congressional level, both at the state and federal level,
and we get that to the improper committees so that
they can understand where our veterans.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Feel about this. We're apolitical, so we do not filter
the information that we get the data that we get,
which I think separates us from any other Veterans Support organization.
Most other organizations, if they do.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Do a poll or a survey, then it goes to
the local level, and then it gets sanitized, and then
it goes to the regional level, think gets edited more
and then by the time it gets to the national.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Level, it doesn't look like anything that somebody asked for.
So we have no filtration process and sometimes we're surprised
by what we will hear in the poll, but we
share that and we can get that data down to
the congressional district, so we can go straight to a
congress person and say, hey, this is what your constituents
(14:27):
are seeing in your area about this subject. And I
think that's what separates us and that second one, as
we amplify the voices of veterans, but we also are
becoming the hub for a lot of others. So we
tell the stories of other great not for profits that
(14:48):
are helping veterans and helping veterans plug into those organizations.
I think about Continues, Team Rubicon, a number of organizationations
that are really doing great work in helping veterans furness
their talents for the betterment of our community.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Last thing I want to make sure we touch on
for veterans who are listening who want to share their
thoughts on what they're experiencing, and for those listening who
want to help support the work you're doing at Mission
roll Call. How can they all go about doing that?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, first thing they can do is just go on
Mission roll call dot org and sign up to get
our polling information. And we don't share those that or
phone number with anyone except our organization and will send
you information on polling and ask your opinion on a
(15:42):
number of different subjects. We don't ask or membership fee.
It's just we want them to join our organization so
their voices are heard. So kind of look at it.
If you're a veteran, or even if you're interested in
veteran events or the veteran call your spouse, you're a dependent,
(16:02):
your grandfather serves. You just feel like it's something you
want to have a void, just go to our website,
enjoin and find out out what we're doing in the
events that we're having. We'll be launching a series of
podcasts right now talking about our organization, but also talking
about other organizations. So we feel it's really important to
(16:24):
highlight what other Veterans support organizations are doing so that
people understand what they can support. And we think that's important.
So it's not just a pitch for us. If you
feel like you want to support an organization that's providing
dogs to veterans, we want to help you do that.
(16:45):
So we want to tell the collective story and make
sure that veterans causes a hord by the population.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And again, the website is Mission Role called dot org.
That's Mission Role Call dot org. Retired Army Loops Colonel
and CEO of Mission Role Call Jim Wally with us. Jim,
thank you so much for your time and the great
work you're doing on all of this. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Well, thank you Ryan. You've been a patriot to cover
this calls as you have, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Thanks again, Jim, really appreciate it. I'm Ryan Gorman here
on iHeartRadio communities, and now let me bring in my
next guest ahead of Purple Heart Day, which is coming
up this Wednesday. We're joined by retired Army Lieutenant colonel
in two time Purpleheart recipient, Daniel Gade. He's also serving
as an advisory council member at America's Warrior Partnership, a
(17:33):
tremendous organization that you can learn more about at America's
Warrior Partnership dot org. Colonel Gade, thank you so much
for taking a few minutes to come on the show,
and let's start with your experience serving this country, including
how you ended up receiving two Purple Hearts.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Yeah, Ryan, thanks for having me on, and I'm super
excited to talk about America's Warrior Partnership with you. It's
a great organization, and America's Warrior Partnership dot org it's
the website. So I'm Daniel Gad. I served in the
US Army from nineteen ninety two when I enlisted until
twenty seventeen when I retired as a lieutenant colonel. I'm
a graduate of West Point and a veteran of the
(18:11):
war in Iraq, where I was wounded in combat twice.
And you know, I was wounded the first time on
November tenth, two thousand and four, in a firefight in
a city called Ramadi, west of Baghdad, when a rocket
propelled grenade struck my tank and killed the soldier next
to me. His name was Dennis Miller from Lesalle, Michigan,
(18:32):
and Dennis was twenty one and his wife, Kimberly, was nineteen.
And I just think it's really important to remember their names,
you know, when we're talking about the people around us
who paid the ultimate sacrifice, I think we should we
should say their names out loud. So Dennis Miller was
that soldier and he was killed, and I was wounded
on November tenth, two thousand and four, and I was
wounded mildly, It wasn't I was not wounded seriously in
(18:54):
that incident. But two months later I was wounded again,
this time by an improvised explode device and ied that
was planted next to the road and it hit my
home v and very very seriously wounded me. I ended
up being flown to Germany and then to the United States,
and my right leg was amputated a couple days later
(19:17):
at the hip. So I'm a hip level amputee on
the right hand side, and I had to have I
was in the hospital for about six months, and then
I was an outpatient in the hospital for another like
five months before I could sort of return to my life.
But what's been really interesting over these years is that I've,
by sort of fortune, I've become an expert in veterans
(19:39):
policy and in veterans affairs, and so when the opportunity
to partner with America's Warrior Partnership came along, I jumped
at it because it's a it's a great organization, and
you know, I've seen a lot of organizations in this space,
and this is a great one that does absolutely phenomenal
work for our veterans.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I want to go back real quick. You talked about
the first incident happening in November of two thousand and four.
Then you're right back out there and the second incident
takes place in January of two thousand and five. Now,
you said the wounds you sustained in the first attack
weren't very serious, but you had to still be dealing
with some of the trauma that came along with that experience,
including losing someone who obviously was very close to who
(20:17):
you were serving with.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Yeah, you know, I think what I would say is
that a lot of soldiers went so again, I was
very mildly wounded. I didn't even have that surgery. We
sort of picked some shrapnel out of my skin, and
there's some more shrapnel that sort of worked its way
out over the next couple of weeks. So I was
not seriously wounded. But I think as a leader in
(20:38):
combat especially, I think a lot of us have experienced this,
and a lot of people who are going to hear
this interview have experienced this where you just put that
pain in like a box, right, and you put the
box inside your mental you know, foot locker, and you
put the foot locker in the attic and you don't
unpack it. And some people don't unpack it ever, and
some people don't unpack it until after they're done with there,
(21:00):
with their time in combat. But what I would say
is that it was my responsibility as a leader to
put that away and not to let it affect my
day to day operations. I couldn't let Dennis's death be
something that caused me to, you know, hide in my
room and not go out on patrol and not take
risks or the opposite to try to seek revenge, because
(21:22):
either one of those is is not the appropriate response
to that. And so I, you know, as a well
trained combat leader, and I put that in a little
box and I bring it out and I'm mourn about
it sometimes, but it's it's something that I just had
to had to understand was part of what happens when
when we send soldiers to war.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Do you think it's those kinds of experiences that are
part of the mental health epidemic that we're dealing with
when it comes to veterans in this country and the
battle that we're facing fighting against veterans suicide, which is
a major part of the mission of America's warrior partnership.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
That's right, And what we see with what we see
with veterans is kind of a couple of different things.
One is, for some of us, not all you know,
there are some people who are you know, generator mechanics
or truck drivers or whatever, or even they're maybe maybe
they're industry soldiers, but they never experienced combat. And so
not everybody has a has a has a traumatizing experience
(22:19):
while they're in there in service. But but a lot
of people do. Okay, So there's the there's the trauma
that could occur during service, but I think a real,
a real furious transition stress also occurs where people who've
been part of an institution for whether it's two years
or twenty years, you become you become an part of
the institution. You you know, the language becomes your language,
(22:42):
the uniform feels like it's natural to you, and all
that stuff. And then all of a sudden, you're not
in the military anymore. And so you know, whether it's
whether you your term of enlistment is over, you retire,
or whatever, but you're not in the military anymore, and
so you're now interfacing with a society that doesn't know
what to do with you. And frankly, in a lot
of cases, you as a veteran don't know what to
(23:03):
do with yourself either you know, you have a sense
of entitlement or you have a sense of you know,
these civilians are different than me, when in fact you
were just a civilian now too, And so a lot
of a lot of veterans really struggle with that. And
so there's there's certain service trauma, there's out of service trauma,
you know, things like you know, sexual assault or child
(23:24):
abuse or those kind of things that occur to a
lot of people. That's out of service trauma. And then
there's transition trauma, and then there's sort of what I
call like life trauma. You know, life is hard, and
hard things happen to people who are veterans, and the
hard things happen to people who are not veterans. And
we have we need to understand that all of these
things come into the mix and for each individual, those
(23:46):
things cause different kinds of effects. You could put the
same stimulus on two people and those people will have
wildly different results. And so we do see a lot
of veterans out there struggling, just like we see a
lot of regular people struggling. A lot of people who
never served are struggling too. We know there's a global
mental health crisis, but it's definitely affecting veterans in a
(24:08):
dramatic way. And that's why I think America's Warrior Partnership
is so great because it's the community based model. The
idea is to integrate with community partners to bring in resources,
to bring in people, to bring in other partner other
nonprofits and things. Integrate all that together and serve and
serve those and serve those veterans where they are, not
(24:30):
where you hope they are. And way too many of
these other organizations I think are focused on, you know,
having a big name and having a you know, having
big billboards all over the place. But what America's Warrior
Partnership is focused on is doing the right thing for
veterans where they are.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I'm Ryan Gorman and head of Purple Heart Day coming
up this Wednesday. I'm joined by retired Army Lieutenant Colonel
Daniel Gate, who's a two time Purple Heart recipient. How
important do you think it is that people like yourself
who have served and have this common understanding with other
veterans are part of America's Warrior Partnership the leadership you
serving as an advisory council member.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Yeah, that's right. I mean America's Warrior Partnership is by
veterans and four veterans. The CEO is a guy nam
Jim Lorraine, who was a Special Operations UH affiliated nurse
actually in the US Air Force and later ran the
Special Operations was called care Coalition. So he was the
guy who was sort of in charge of a lot
of the special operations care that took place back then,
(25:30):
a fellow board member of mine has gotten a Clinton Rumache,
who is a Medal of Honor recipient from the war
in Afghanistan, who was absolutely gallant in in the in
the fight that's depicted in the movie The Outpost. He's
I think his character is played by by Scott Eastwood
in the in the movie. So so he's a legitimate
war hero. And you know, and there and so this
(25:54):
is an organization that's by veterans, four veterans and so
veterans who are engaging with America's Warrior Partnership America's War
Partnership dot org to donate or to get more information,
but America's Warrior Partnership. The people who are engaging with
America's Warrior Partnership should know that from top to bottom,
left to right, in this organization are caring professionals who
(26:14):
who really do understand the veteran experience and want to
help them and help them lead lives that help them
benefit their communities too.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
And just from a personal perspective, your story is so incredible.
The two attacks that you dealt with while serving overseas
the two Purple Hearts that you received, losing your leg
in one of those taxs, then coming back and doing
what you've done, from competing in one hundred and forty
plus mile iron Man to the work you're doing with
America's Warrior Partnership. What's your advice for veterans listening, or
(26:46):
really any American who trying to overcome significant challenges in
their life.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
Yeah, I think what I would say about that is
that I was just really blessed by having an absolutely
awesome family, by having great medical care at Walter Eden, later,
by by having a having faith in God, and that
all of what happened to me was that it was
part of God's plan and so so all of that
(27:12):
coming together just just allowed me to be in a
position where where, yes, I'm you know, a very serious
physical disability, but I've lived a great life in the
in the ensuing twenty years, you know, I've I've, like
I said, like you said, I've done all these athletic things.
I do jiu jitsu, I lived weights. Like life is
really good. Physically, I'm in good health and mentally I'm
(27:36):
in good health because I've had, you know, an opportunity
to be surrounded by people who cared for me. Not
every person, not every veteran has that opportunity. And so
what we're hoping for with America's Word Partnership is to
be there for veterans who who are struggling and and so,
you know, we want everybody to have great outcomes like
I've had. And it's not a testament to me necessarily,
(27:58):
it's more a testament to you know, I just have
been richly blessed, and I'm deeply aware of how richly
have been blessed.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Final question for you, how can everyone listening support the
important work that America's Warrior Partnership is doing. And for
veterans who are listening who think that some of the
programs that you offer, some of the services America's Warrior
Partnership provides might be helpful to them, how should they
go about take advantage of that?
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Absolutely, So, America's Warrior Partnership dot org is where to go,
and you can if you're listening to this and you
have like five dollars, go over there and give five dollars.
You know, if you look, there are so many organizations
out there saying, oh, we help veterans and this is
this is one of the best. This is the best,
and so go to America's Warrior Partnership to donate. And
(28:46):
if you're a veteran or a veteran family member, or
you know a veteran who's struggling, point them to America's
Warrior Partnership. There's a there's links on there to ask
for assistance and things like that. It's very easy and
there are people way to help you. But this is
an innovative, cutting edge, community based organization that's doing absolutely
(29:07):
amazing work for veterans and their families. And so I'm
I'm all in, and I hope that the people listening
to this will will consider joining us in our mission
of caring for America's veterans.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Ahead of Purple Heart Day, which is coming up on
this Wednesday. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gate a two
time Purple Heart recipient and an advisory council member at
America's Warrior Partnership, with which again you can learn more
about and support at America's Warrior Partnership dot org. Colonel Gade,
thank you so much for your service to this country,
(29:38):
your tremendous heroism, and for taking a few minutes to
come on the show. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
I'm so glad to talk to you. Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
All right. That's going to do it for this edition
of iHeartRadio Communities. I'm your host, Ryan Gorman. Want to
thank all of our guests for joining us, and thank
all of you for listening. We'll talk to you again
real soon.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues impacting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Here's Ryan Gorman.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks so much for joining us here on iHeartRadio Communities.
I'm Ryan Gorman, and we have a couple of really
important conversations lined up for you. In a moment, we'll
talk to an organization giving voice to millions of veterans nationwide.
And then ahead of Purple Heart Day this Wednesday, we'll
talk to a two time Purple Heart recipient about the
injuries he sustained fighting for our country and the different
(00:29):
ways the organization he represents, America's Warrior Partnership, is working
to prevent veterans suicide and help veterans integrate back into
their communities. Right now, to get things started, I'm joined
by retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jim Whaley, the CEO
of Mission Role Call, which you can learn more about
at Mission Rolecall dot org. Colonel Whaley, thank you so
(00:50):
much for takeing a few minutes to come on the show,
and let's begin with an overview of the work Mission
Role Call does for veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Sure well, we saw a need for making sure that
the voices of veterans, their families, caregivers was heard not
only by you that reach our audience, the American people,
but also for elected officials both at the state and
federal level. It's about eighteen million veterans in our country.
Half of those.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Are not associated with any Veterans Support organization or the
VA and their voices should be heard and so that's
will help amplify the voices of those who have signed
up to defend our country.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
How has your organization grown and how have you been
able to better serve veterans by making sure their voices
their needs are heard by those who can make a
real difference.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, it continues to grow every day. We're apolitical, so
we don't filter anyone's opinion. We don't send out leading
polls to try to get the answer that we want
because we want to hear from veterans from all walks
of life, share that information with the press in the
(02:02):
media as well as other veterans so that they can
share that with their elected officials, so we can affect
change in what.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Let's talk about the poll your organization conducted of veterans
across the country to get a sense of what issues
are important to them ahead of this upcoming election. What
did you find?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Well, I think the first thing that is astounding to
me that of the hundreds or close to thousands people
that we interviewed, ninety six percent of their registered to vote.
So when you think about the general American public and
then compare that with veterans and how many are registered
to vote and plan on voting, that's an extreme number.
(02:46):
And it's a great number because it shows that veterans
have a passion to have their voices heard. But your
specific question about what's important to them, and one of
those important things, and too top important ones are veteran benefits.
To make sure that veterans are receiving the benefits that
(03:06):
they should be receiving, and that goes hand in hand
with number two, which is healthcare access. There's a lot
of veterans that have served their country admirably, some of
them with disabilities that cannot access healthcare because the v
(03:27):
is not you know there. They have static buildings, right,
they have hospitals throughout the country, but that doesn't reach everybody.
If you're in a rural location, you may not be
able to get to that hospital. So we've we've been
listening to our veterans and overwhelming what veterans want is
to be care where they live and work, which should
(03:49):
not be a surprise to the VA, but somehow they
simply do not understand that.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
And then the other.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Pieces which scores very high, and what they want to
talk about, what they want addressed in homelessness. On any
given night, we have thirty five thousand veterans that are
homeless and that is just an embarrassment for our country.
That needs to be remedied and that to be known
(04:17):
and we want it addressed in this upcoming election by
both partners.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined now by retired US Army Lieutenant
Colonel Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Role Call, which you
can learn more about and support at Mission Rolecall dot org.
I want to focus in on veteran homelessness for a moment.
This is something that this country has spent a lot
of time in resources trying to deal with. Yet where
(04:42):
are we in that battle to reduce those numbers? Are
we making significant progress?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, unfortunately, the numbers aren't going in the direction we want.
There's been a seven point five percent increase since twenty
twenty two, largest surge in twelve years, so the numbers
are going in the wrong direction. There's a number of
local organizations that help veterans homelessness in different states. So
(05:15):
there's a number of organizations that Unfortunately I can't go
through all of them, but I do believe one of
the things that we're seeing and hearing from veterans is
we shouldn't be surprised by this number because in the
front end, so while service members are in active duty,
(05:36):
so these are current active duty people that serve in
the Army, the Marines, the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard,
twenty four percent of them ryan have food insecurity issues.
So food insecurity issues means they don't know where their
next meal is going to come from, or they don't
(05:58):
have the funds to be able to buy nutritious meals.
So that really is financial insecurity, right, That's just that
food insecurity is financial insecurity. This is in the statistic
that my organization has come up with. This is a
statistic that the Department of Defense, if anyone googles it,
will find. So we shouldn't be surprised if twenty four percent,
(06:22):
nearly a quarter of active duty military have financial insecurity issues.
We shouldn't be surprised that when they leave service that
financial insecurity is following them. So and coupled with the
fact that we really do not do a good job
on helping veterans transition to civilian life, you add those
(06:45):
things to together and now we see the numbers that
we're seeing with homelessness. So it's a significant problem and
the DoD and the VA need to work together to
address that issue. Of services do a wonderful job on
taking people from every walk of life and bringing them
(07:06):
into an organization and having them part of a world
class team that is the finest fighting force in the world.
What they do a terrible job in is making sure
that when they're getting ready to leave that they do
a good job to help them find a job. And
we shouldn't be surprised that when veterans have a difficult
(07:28):
time finding a job, that that's eventually going to affect recruitment.
So right now all the branches are suffering from recruitment issues.
They can't get the people that they need to join
the military. Well, it doesn't take a rocket science to
figure out if well twenty five percent of them twenty
four are not being paid to the point where they
(07:49):
can be financially secure and knowing where their next meal
is troubled with the fact that many of them now
can't find jobs on the way out, why would you
urge your son and daughter to join the military.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I'm also wondering if the other issue that you brought up,
access to healthcare, being able to get the care that
they need, either physically or mentally, with mental health access,
if that's another component to all of this, whether it's
the homelessness issue or just the general struggles that so
many veterans are facing when they come home.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Absolutely, and that is a significant coupling, a multiplier to
this problem. So when you see veterans having trouble with
getting the health care they need, when you see veterans
struggling with post traumatic stress or any number of issues,
coupled with the fact that all the other issues that
(08:48):
we have, you could see why people would be reluctant
to join the military, or why coaches and mentors and
counselors are not steering young men and women to the military.
So the Department of the Defense needs to realize, right,
huge building, lots of people, a lot of smart people
(09:09):
working there, need to realize that the VA effects recruitment issues,
and I don't think they've made that corollary connection to
the point where they're really working together in a thoughtful
way to make sure that the situation is addressed. You
(09:30):
can't they can't work in a vacuum. They have to
look at this holistically. The VA has to come to
grips that they have to figure out how to get
healthcare where people are allowing them to go to civilian
doctors and making that process easier. They have to think
about being better stewards of three hundred billion dollars. There
(09:54):
shouldn't be any problems in the VA with a budget
of three hundred billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Gorman with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jim Whaley, the
CEO of Mission Role Call, which you can learn more
about and support at Mission rollcall dot org. Last thing
I want to touch on veteran suicide. A number of
different variables going into that problem that we continue to
see persist in this country. Talk to us about the
work your organization is doing to help prevent veteran suicide.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Well, thank you, Ron, That's an important topic and no
one is proud of seventeen to twenty plus veterans every
day taking their lives for a myriad of reasons, and
those numbers have not dropped even though there's been a
lot of resources devoted to it. I think one thing
(10:44):
is if you continue to do the same thing and
hope for a different outcome, then you need to relook that.
So obviously the current process that is doing is not working.
They need they need to established collaboration and provide resources
(11:05):
to nonprofits that are in the field that are actually
doing great work in this regard. I think about Avalon nonprofit,
I think about a number of other nonprofits that are
really doing some wonderful work on traumatic brain injury and
things of that nature. So they need to look at
(11:27):
ways to collaborate at the local level and regional level,
and they have to be open to change, and that's important.
I think the other thing is is that, uh, the
VA needs to understand that this problem is a stain
on our country. It's it's an embarrassment not to mention,
(11:52):
an absolute travesty of thinking about all these young men
and women that have taken their lives in the prime
of their lives in many cases, and we need to
we need to fix it, and it would be great
to see a proposal from either party as we go
into this election year of how we're going to fix that,
not hyperbole, how are we actually going to do it.
(12:14):
How do we put a national effort under way to
make sure that veterans make a successful tradition transition to society.
I would tell you that every veteran I've met and
worked with want to continue to serve their country. They
want to make an impact, and when they leave the military,
that's the one thing that they miss, and so we
(12:36):
need to find a way to make sure that we
put them and give them a new mission. And Lord knows,
we have a lot of things that we can put
them to that would would benefit society. So I hope
that we really give this the attention that it deserves.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
So you gather all of this information from veterans all
across the country, their concerns and all of that, and
then this information, what are some of the ways that
you utilize it or make sure that those who are
in those positions to enact change that they have access
to it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Well, we great question.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
What we do is we share that with the media
such as yourself, We share that with elected officials at
at the congressional level, both at the state and federal level,
and we get that to the improper committees so that
they can understand where our veterans.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Feel about this. We're apolitical, so we do not filter
the information that we get the data that we get,
which I think separates us from any other Veterans Support organization.
Most other organizations, if they do.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Do a poll or a survey, then it goes to
the local level, and then it gets sanitized, and then
it goes to the regional level, think gets edited more
and then by the time it gets to the national.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Level, it doesn't look like anything that somebody asked for.
So we have no filtration process and sometimes we're surprised
by what we will hear in the poll, but we
share that and we can get that data down to
the congressional district, so we can go straight to a
congress person and say, hey, this is what your constituents
(14:27):
are seeing in your area about this subject. And I
think that's what separates us and that second one, as
we amplify the voices of veterans, but we also are
becoming the hub for a lot of others. So we
tell the stories of other great not for profits that
(14:48):
are helping veterans and helping veterans plug into those organizations.
I think about Continues, Team Rubicon, a number of organizationations
that are really doing great work in helping veterans furness
their talents for the betterment of our community.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Last thing I want to make sure we touch on
for veterans who are listening who want to share their
thoughts on what they're experiencing, and for those listening who
want to help support the work you're doing at Mission
roll Call. How can they all go about doing that?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, first thing they can do is just go on
Mission roll call dot org and sign up to get
our polling information. And we don't share those that or
phone number with anyone except our organization and will send
you information on polling and ask your opinion on a
(15:42):
number of different subjects. We don't ask or membership fee.
It's just we want them to join our organization so
their voices are heard. So kind of look at it.
If you're a veteran, or even if you're interested in
veteran events or the veteran call your spouse, you're a dependent,
(16:02):
your grandfather serves. You just feel like it's something you
want to have a void, just go to our website,
enjoin and find out out what we're doing in the
events that we're having. We'll be launching a series of
podcasts right now talking about our organization, but also talking
about other organizations. So we feel it's really important to
(16:24):
highlight what other Veterans support organizations are doing so that
people understand what they can support. And we think that's important.
So it's not just a pitch for us. If you
feel like you want to support an organization that's providing
dogs to veterans, we want to help you do that.
(16:45):
So we want to tell the collective story and make
sure that veterans causes a hord by the population.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And again, the website is Mission Role called dot org.
That's Mission Role Call dot org. Retired Army Loops Colonel
and CEO of Mission Role Call Jim Wally with us. Jim,
thank you so much for your time and the great
work you're doing on all of this. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Well, thank you Ryan. You've been a patriot to cover
this calls as you have, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Thanks again, Jim, really appreciate it. I'm Ryan Gorman here
on iHeartRadio communities, and now let me bring in my
next guest ahead of Purple Heart Day, which is coming
up this Wednesday. We're joined by retired Army Lieutenant colonel
in two time Purpleheart recipient, Daniel Gade. He's also serving
as an advisory council member at America's Warrior Partnership, a
(17:33):
tremendous organization that you can learn more about at America's
Warrior Partnership dot org. Colonel Gade, thank you so much
for taking a few minutes to come on the show,
and let's start with your experience serving this country, including
how you ended up receiving two Purple Hearts.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Yeah, Ryan, thanks for having me on, and I'm super
excited to talk about America's Warrior Partnership with you. It's
a great organization, and America's Warrior Partnership dot org it's
the website. So I'm Daniel Gad. I served in the
US Army from nineteen ninety two when I enlisted until
twenty seventeen when I retired as a lieutenant colonel. I'm
a graduate of West Point and a veteran of the
(18:11):
war in Iraq, where I was wounded in combat twice.
And you know, I was wounded the first time on
November tenth, two thousand and four, in a firefight in
a city called Ramadi, west of Baghdad, when a rocket
propelled grenade struck my tank and killed the soldier next
to me. His name was Dennis Miller from Lesalle, Michigan,
(18:32):
and Dennis was twenty one and his wife, Kimberly, was nineteen.
And I just think it's really important to remember their names,
you know, when we're talking about the people around us
who paid the ultimate sacrifice, I think we should we
should say their names out loud. So Dennis Miller was
that soldier and he was killed, and I was wounded
on November tenth, two thousand and four, and I was
wounded mildly, It wasn't I was not wounded seriously in
(18:54):
that incident. But two months later I was wounded again,
this time by an improvised explode device and ied that
was planted next to the road and it hit my
home v and very very seriously wounded me. I ended
up being flown to Germany and then to the United States,
and my right leg was amputated a couple days later
(19:17):
at the hip. So I'm a hip level amputee on
the right hand side, and I had to have I
was in the hospital for about six months, and then
I was an outpatient in the hospital for another like
five months before I could sort of return to my life.
But what's been really interesting over these years is that I've,
by sort of fortune, I've become an expert in veterans
(19:39):
policy and in veterans affairs, and so when the opportunity
to partner with America's Warrior Partnership came along, I jumped
at it because it's a it's a great organization, and
you know, I've seen a lot of organizations in this space,
and this is a great one that does absolutely phenomenal
work for our veterans.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I want to go back real quick. You talked about
the first incident happening in November of two thousand and four.
Then you're right back out there and the second incident
takes place in January of two thousand and five. Now,
you said the wounds you sustained in the first attack
weren't very serious, but you had to still be dealing
with some of the trauma that came along with that experience,
including losing someone who obviously was very close to who
(20:17):
you were serving with.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Yeah, you know, I think what I would say is
that a lot of soldiers went so again, I was
very mildly wounded. I didn't even have that surgery. We
sort of picked some shrapnel out of my skin, and
there's some more shrapnel that sort of worked its way
out over the next couple of weeks. So I was
not seriously wounded. But I think as a leader in
(20:38):
combat especially, I think a lot of us have experienced this,
and a lot of people who are going to hear
this interview have experienced this where you just put that
pain in like a box, right, and you put the
box inside your mental you know, foot locker, and you
put the foot locker in the attic and you don't
unpack it. And some people don't unpack it ever, and
some people don't unpack it until after they're done with there,
(21:00):
with their time in combat. But what I would say
is that it was my responsibility as a leader to
put that away and not to let it affect my
day to day operations. I couldn't let Dennis's death be
something that caused me to, you know, hide in my
room and not go out on patrol and not take
risks or the opposite to try to seek revenge, because
(21:22):
either one of those is is not the appropriate response
to that. And so I, you know, as a well
trained combat leader, and I put that in a little
box and I bring it out and I'm mourn about
it sometimes, but it's it's something that I just had
to had to understand was part of what happens when
when we send soldiers to war.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Do you think it's those kinds of experiences that are
part of the mental health epidemic that we're dealing with
when it comes to veterans in this country and the
battle that we're facing fighting against veterans suicide, which is
a major part of the mission of America's warrior partnership.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
That's right, And what we see with what we see
with veterans is kind of a couple of different things.
One is, for some of us, not all you know,
there are some people who are you know, generator mechanics
or truck drivers or whatever, or even they're maybe maybe
they're industry soldiers, but they never experienced combat. And so
not everybody has a has a has a traumatizing experience
(22:19):
while they're in there in service. But but a lot
of people do. Okay, So there's the there's the trauma
that could occur during service, but I think a real,
a real furious transition stress also occurs where people who've
been part of an institution for whether it's two years
or twenty years, you become you become an part of
the institution. You you know, the language becomes your language,
(22:42):
the uniform feels like it's natural to you, and all
that stuff. And then all of a sudden, you're not
in the military anymore. And so you know, whether it's
whether you your term of enlistment is over, you retire,
or whatever, but you're not in the military anymore, and
so you're now interfacing with a society that doesn't know
what to do with you. And frankly, in a lot
of cases, you as a veteran don't know what to
(23:03):
do with yourself either you know, you have a sense
of entitlement or you have a sense of you know,
these civilians are different than me, when in fact you
were just a civilian now too, And so a lot
of a lot of veterans really struggle with that. And
so there's there's certain service trauma, there's out of service trauma,
you know, things like you know, sexual assault or child
(23:24):
abuse or those kind of things that occur to a
lot of people. That's out of service trauma. And then
there's transition trauma, and then there's sort of what I
call like life trauma. You know, life is hard, and
hard things happen to people who are veterans, and the
hard things happen to people who are not veterans. And
we have we need to understand that all of these
things come into the mix and for each individual, those
(23:46):
things cause different kinds of effects. You could put the
same stimulus on two people and those people will have
wildly different results. And so we do see a lot
of veterans out there struggling, just like we see a
lot of regular people struggling. A lot of people who
never served are struggling too. We know there's a global
mental health crisis, but it's definitely affecting veterans in a
(24:08):
dramatic way. And that's why I think America's Warrior Partnership
is so great because it's the community based model. The
idea is to integrate with community partners to bring in resources,
to bring in people, to bring in other partner other
nonprofits and things. Integrate all that together and serve and
serve those and serve those veterans where they are, not
(24:30):
where you hope they are. And way too many of
these other organizations I think are focused on, you know,
having a big name and having a you know, having
big billboards all over the place. But what America's Warrior
Partnership is focused on is doing the right thing for
veterans where they are.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I'm Ryan Gorman and head of Purple Heart Day coming
up this Wednesday. I'm joined by retired Army Lieutenant Colonel
Daniel Gate, who's a two time Purple Heart recipient. How
important do you think it is that people like yourself
who have served and have this common understanding with other
veterans are part of America's Warrior Partnership the leadership you
serving as an advisory council member.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Yeah, that's right. I mean America's Warrior Partnership is by
veterans and four veterans. The CEO is a guy nam
Jim Lorraine, who was a Special Operations UH affiliated nurse
actually in the US Air Force and later ran the
Special Operations was called care Coalition. So he was the
guy who was sort of in charge of a lot
of the special operations care that took place back then,
(25:30):
a fellow board member of mine has gotten a Clinton Rumache,
who is a Medal of Honor recipient from the war
in Afghanistan, who was absolutely gallant in in the in
the fight that's depicted in the movie The Outpost. He's
I think his character is played by by Scott Eastwood
in the in the movie. So so he's a legitimate
war hero. And you know, and there and so this
(25:54):
is an organization that's by veterans, four veterans and so
veterans who are engaging with America's Warrior Partnership America's War
Partnership dot org to donate or to get more information,
but America's Warrior Partnership. The people who are engaging with
America's Warrior Partnership should know that from top to bottom,
left to right, in this organization are caring professionals who
(26:14):
who really do understand the veteran experience and want to
help them and help them lead lives that help them
benefit their communities too.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
And just from a personal perspective, your story is so incredible.
The two attacks that you dealt with while serving overseas
the two Purple Hearts that you received, losing your leg
in one of those taxs, then coming back and doing
what you've done, from competing in one hundred and forty
plus mile iron Man to the work you're doing with
America's Warrior Partnership. What's your advice for veterans listening, or
(26:46):
really any American who trying to overcome significant challenges in
their life.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
Yeah, I think what I would say about that is
that I was just really blessed by having an absolutely
awesome family, by having great medical care at Walter Eden, later,
by by having a having faith in God, and that
all of what happened to me was that it was
part of God's plan and so so all of that
(27:12):
coming together just just allowed me to be in a
position where where, yes, I'm you know, a very serious
physical disability, but I've lived a great life in the
in the ensuing twenty years, you know, I've I've, like
I said, like you said, I've done all these athletic things.
I do jiu jitsu, I lived weights. Like life is
really good. Physically, I'm in good health and mentally I'm
(27:36):
in good health because I've had, you know, an opportunity
to be surrounded by people who cared for me. Not
every person, not every veteran has that opportunity. And so
what we're hoping for with America's Word Partnership is to
be there for veterans who who are struggling and and so,
you know, we want everybody to have great outcomes like
I've had. And it's not a testament to me necessarily,
(27:58):
it's more a testament to you know, I just have
been richly blessed, and I'm deeply aware of how richly
have been blessed.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Final question for you, how can everyone listening support the
important work that America's Warrior Partnership is doing. And for
veterans who are listening who think that some of the
programs that you offer, some of the services America's Warrior
Partnership provides might be helpful to them, how should they
go about take advantage of that?
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Absolutely, So, America's Warrior Partnership dot org is where to go,
and you can if you're listening to this and you
have like five dollars, go over there and give five dollars.
You know, if you look, there are so many organizations
out there saying, oh, we help veterans and this is
this is one of the best. This is the best,
and so go to America's Warrior Partnership to donate. And
(28:46):
if you're a veteran or a veteran family member, or
you know a veteran who's struggling, point them to America's
Warrior Partnership. There's a there's links on there to ask
for assistance and things like that. It's very easy and
there are people way to help you. But this is
an innovative, cutting edge, community based organization that's doing absolutely
(29:07):
amazing work for veterans and their families. And so I'm
I'm all in, and I hope that the people listening
to this will will consider joining us in our mission
of caring for America's veterans.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Ahead of Purple Heart Day, which is coming up on
this Wednesday. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gate a two
time Purple Heart recipient and an advisory council member at
America's Warrior Partnership, with which again you can learn more
about and support at America's Warrior Partnership dot org. Colonel Gade,
thank you so much for your service to this country,
(29:38):
your tremendous heroism, and for taking a few minutes to
come on the show. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
I'm so glad to talk to you. Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
All right. That's going to do it for this edition
of iHeartRadio Communities. I'm your host, Ryan Gorman. Want to
thank all of our guests for joining us, and thank
all of you for listening. We'll talk to you again
real soon.
Host
Manny Munoz
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