Us sent to fight it. But no one can debate the service and sacrifice of those who fell while serving. It is unfortunate the circumstance under which the more than 2 million veterans who returned from vietnam did not lend itself to the type of welcome given to the veterans of other wars, or even to those of us who were prisoners in vietnam. Overdue, withng this parade today and especially with this dedication, america is saying welcome home. [applause] here in this great city with the nations affairs are conducted and the buildings, new and old they give us a sense of history and of our destiny, washington, also a city of monuments, landmarks, stone statues, testified to the deeds and ask of those who have shaped the nation we have become. Memorial isveterans unique. Vastly different from the monuments of independence, emancipation that blanket, it will be a memorial visible for all time to come to those who have made and implement our nations laws and for those who come to the city to see the symbols of our national strength. That then doubt Vietnam Veterans memorial will be in internal eternal conscience of the the nation. It will tell of the also responsibility we have as members of a free and dedicated society. Man 35 years that later, everett alvarez. Vietnam war veteran and the longest held prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Happy to happy with us, good morning. Guest good morning. Happy veterans day. Host take us back to that day in 1982, that ceremony you spoke at. What was that moment like for you and wanted me to have a Vietnam Veterans memorial . Guest it was a very momentous occasion. The individuals that had worked on that project for years. It was controversial at times. Finally saw the completion of the wall in 1982. Huge a Vietnam Veterans in canada washington. I was totally surprised. I had the fortune of being the deputy of the v. A. At the time. I was able to say a few words. It is something i will never forget. Are theeally remember thousands of Vietnam Veterans that came in and their families and just wanted to be there. And when they had the chance to go up in touch the wall, touch the names, something i will never forget. Host lets put the phone numbers on the bottom of our screen. One life for Vietnam Veterans only. 202 7488000. 202 7488001 for all others. Pilot,st was a u. S. Navy the First American aviator shot dead over vietnam and the longest held prisoner of war in North Vietnam for about 8. 5 years. Take us back to that day in 1964. What happened and what was it like for you . Guest august 5, 1964 is the day i was shot down. It was the first strike into North Vietnam. I was involved the night before with the controversial torpedo attacks on two destroyers. I was the one that came down with the flares and lit up the sky. That remains controversial to this day. The next day i was in the first strike. There were two airplanes that were shot down. Fortunately i survived by a miracle and made it out of my aircraft. I was immediately picked up and there began the long journey. I was the first one into the prison and hanoi, that was later named the hanoi hilton. I was the first to undergo many of the indoctrination programs. I was involved in the 52 pows marched through the streets in 1966. I was interviewed and interrogated by the cubans when they first came into the amount and took over one of the pow camps. A longt of experience with something i would not recommend to anybody. It was something that we as a group had to learn to survive and to stick together. We had a covert communication system. We had a good military organization. We were able to maintain covert conditions. That cant commanders rules do not permit us to have a do it call a regular p. O. W. Structure. For many years it was very tough. Conditions were extremely bad. And of course the punishments, the tortures for propaganda purposes. From 1965 to 1968, things were really bad. Then gradually they started to improve. We saw some light when the paris peace talks began in 1968. Then after months we got our news filtering in their propaganda. Whencame dismayed again they talked about the roundtable or the square table. We finally learned in 1969 president nicks and had a president nixon had a plan. It seems to make sense to us. We knew it would take a while longer. It took three more years. Raid to try to free the pows that were there. The conditions gradually improving. Madeyou progress was being in the negotiations. When they finally came to be, nixon started the bombing in 1972. Really put the pressure on them. I was in the hanoi hilton when they came over in december of 1972. That was a real experience. 1972,y after christmas, things became quiet. We knew nixon was not going to give up until the North Vietnamese came to terms. Of month later we were on our way home. Host what did that experience mean for you moving forward with the rest of your life . What should an experience like yours mean to the rest of us . Guest and experience like the ones i had, that we had there are a lot of lessons. A lot of them really bring a lot of meaning to your life. In sort of wakes you up in terms of what it is, what to accomplish. Back tot was to come continue my career, raise a family. Things that were basically important and really get back if i could. I was fortunate. I came back. I was not totally disabled. I was not mentally incapacitated. I was able to go forward. The result of a lot of prayers. I am very thankful for that. Given that opportunity i think giving back to the country we served in our military career and continue to do that. We are fortunate to be here in this country. Host our guest is the son of mexican immigrants, everett alvarez. Retired from the navy in 1980 after reaching the rank of commander. We have a lot of folks that want to talk to you by phone, but we will talk more with you about the rest of your life and your experience. Lets go to pat in pennsylvania. You are on with everett alvarez, the longest held prisoner of war in vietnam. Caller good morning. Mr. Alvarez, thank you for your service. At the beginning of the iraq invasion i was shocked to learn how little Material Support our soldiers had. I found a site called any soldier. Com or you can find people to contact to send supplies. I did and all the people i worked with joined me. That was wonderful. One guy was in vietnam and had developed cancer. It took many years for them to admit the cancer was associated with agent orange. Finally it was. He was given benefits for that. I am wondering about our soldiers of today who are being exposed to her rent this orindas horrendous conditions. I wonder about their fate from developing illness and his experience with that. Thank you for your service again. Guest thank you. Speaking about the effects of um, i was working on the time about the agent orange issues back in 1980s. In conjunction with the department of defense, the v. A. Did a lot of research at the various facilities and universities around the country. They have come up with a substantial report study on that. In addition to that with the effects of agent orange at the time, especially for vietnam were being addressed, there was always the effort to take and get medical care to the veterans who felt they were impacted and suffering from the effects of agent orange. Today i understand there are a lot of presumptions that would give the veterans that feel the effects and are debilitated by exposure to agent orange to receive medical benefits and monetary benefits as well. Compensation for that. I think we have come a long way. Unfortunately it takes a while. A lot of this has to be approved by congress and when i was there at the v. A. We tried and tried. Im sure the people who are there today, not only at the department of defense are working hard to try to get the veterans the attention that they deserve. Host michael in portland, oregon. Good morning. Guest good morning. Host michael, you are on the air. Caller i just wanted to know if this man, mr. Alvarez, knew another pilot, a fighter pilot. That is basically what i want to ask. Whoou do a paul spear flew a crusader. Host what was a last name again . Paul. H. Spear. He has probably died now, but i worked underneath him. I was his steward. Im wondering if he knew the man. The flew a crusader. Guest the name does not ring a bell. I might have run into that name in the past, but at this point in time i dont recollect that name. Host i want to show a brief clip of the conversation we havent senator john mccain, who was conversation we had with senator john mccain, who was shot down and was held as a prisoner of war. He sat down and talked about his experience. [video] senator john mccain its a long story but i was barely able to get back to the surface. Of our stove them jumped in a bunch of them jumped in. Im sure there is a picture of them pulling me out of the lake. You can see my arm is broken up high. Was they pulled me out, they were not happy to see me. I just finished bombing the place. They got pretty rough. And hurte my shoulder my knee again. Look, i dont blame them. We were in a war. But at theike it, when you are in a war and you are captured by the have, you cant expect to tea. They pulled me out of the lake, hoping on a truck, beat me up a little or a lot and then went to the now famous hanoi hilton prison. Which was just a short drive away. A five minute drive away. Then it is a long story about how they found out who my father was and decided to give me treatment and two wonderful americans, who thought they moved me in to die. They nursed me back to health. After they saw me in better health, they fully into solitary confinement. Look, i dont hold a grudge against the North Vietnamese. I dont like them. There are some i would never want to see again. At the same time i was part of a conflict. I thought they were some of the meanest people i had ever met in my life and i never want to see him again see them again. Host do you know senator mccain . Guest i know him very well. Hes an example of the closeness, camaraderie and dependence we had on each other. He was severely injured and depended on those two individuals to take care of him. I can cite countless examples of the same thing happening to others who were badly injured. It was because of the care and the feeding and the cleaning of john. He was unable to do anything for himself. This is the love that was shown with each other. To this day we pows remain a tight group. Host i dont blame them, we were in a war. Having gone through what you went through, how you are to a point like our you dont blame them . Guest you have to realize the vietnamese people at the time lived in a tyrannical regime. They do with a are told. Basically they were told to treat as badly. They would. Then they would be told the treatise nicely and they would. I share the same feelings. I blame the system they were living under and hopefully things are evolving different me today. Again, i dont blame them. We used to have a saying. Someday we will go home. These poor people have to stay here. That goes to show how fortunate we are to live in this system and the country over have the basic freedoms delineated in our constitution, which is what we were fighting to defend and give other people the same opportunity. To live under the freedom we have here. Host john from illinois. Good morning to you. Caller good morning. Everett, i saw you in 1982 at the dedication. I got survivors blessing. I talked three Grammar School buddies and adjoining the marine corps. We were in nam a 1970. Harvey, they got a got the medal of honor. My wifes first cousin was on a hilltop with a fellow named kenny case in the gut the medal of honor. I have survivors blessing. I have read many books from you guys, the pows and the medal of honor winners for inspiration in my life. Gratitude. Rlier to do speak to the resilience you guys have shown through the years. I made it. Might have it written, grease board. Im 67 years old and retired. I feel like a million dollars. The v. A. Press treated me like a king. Speak to the resilience the end of veterans have that were shown the rest of america. Host thank you. Guest belated happy birthday to birthday andorps all of my marine corps buddies. With regard to the resilience that we showed, we could never give up hope. As a result we knew we had to depend on each other for survival. We had to keep each other going day after day. Wave after wave of purges would come by the Camp Commander in the guards when they would force us to do things against our will. Resist, basic thing, to resist their efforts because what they wanted us to do once against our basic principles as American Military people. Resist andthat you you get to a point where you say i have to resist. You give a little bit to get them to back off. Sure enough, weeks later or a month later here they come again. Yet atticus of physical punishment you have to undergo some physical punishment. It was all in defense of what you really believe. You, your integrity. It enabled us to go through. It was not easy and i dont know if i could have done it by myself. I have to depend on the support of my fellow pows over there. It was something we learned that we carry through for the rest of our lives. We all faced challenges. And the ability to look forward and overcome these challenges. Always do the best we can. We did do the best we could well we were there. I have found over time that this attitude, this approach, this positive way of looking at things and looking at life is key. It is essential and having a successful life. I think that was another lesson that came out of that experience. It was a constant challenge. It was tough. But we made it. As john talked about earlier, it was something we find was beneficial. It is deeprooted and our belief now. In our belief now. You can look at life and face any challenges. I have been fortunate to be able to achieve quite a bit. Looking back, i will be 80. I have been very fortunate. Host our guest is been awarded the silver star, two legions of merit, two bronze stars and two purple hearts. Than 80 lone sailor award. Everett alvarez is the longest of prisoner of war in vietnam. Educated at santa clara university, of masters degree. And also a law degree from George Washington university. You wound up moving into the Business World and developed a very successful business. From the time he came home to the time you started that successful business, how did it all come about . Guest i happened to be at the right place at the right time. One of my classmates was leon panetta. I have known leon for many years. Basically, i came home and from vietnam governor reagan and later president reagan, i got to know his staff people and was invited to join the administration when he was elected resident president. I was deputy of the peace corps for a year and a half and then went over to the v. A. Issues at the v. A. Or agent orange and others. As a numbero serve two at the v. A. I really enjoyed that work. When i left the administration, i formed my own consulting business. The federal Government Contracting business. I have had one success after another. It was not easy. It was a lot of hard work but you get used to it. I learned that as a kid. You will never get anywhere unless you work hard. Guest with from betty in massachusetts. Thank you for waiting. Caller how are you . Good morning, mr. Alvarez. First of all i would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for serving our country. I cant even imagine what you went through over there. You said you have a birthday coming up . I would like to wish you a happy birthday. You look wonderful for your age. I have a friend, a dear friend of mine that went through the v. A. Hospital. He has very bad respiratory issues from the asian orange. He is dwindling away. It is horrible. I cant even imagine you, senator mccain. You guys are my heroes. With the you say the draft dodgers . Donald j. Trump saying you are not heroes. That sickens me to my stomach. You are the bravest man to me. You are such a hero. Thats all i wanted to say. Guest thank you. I dont consider myself a hero. I served with heroes, others that did things that were unbelievable. I was just doing my job. Along with a lot of others. Somethinggard it was where we found ourselves in a situation as pows and we just had to do what we had to do to live through it and survive. This is a free country. One of the things we fought to preserve is the freedom of speech and freedom of having an opinion. A lot of individuals speak their piece. They dont always agree with us. You dont always agree with them. With regard to vietnam, it was a controversial it still is. It will be believe until our generation dies out, much like the civil war. And our particular case we made it. President nixon brought us home. A lot of us feel very indebted to him. We are just fortunate to be able to be here and have the opportunities and the successes we have experienced ourselves. Host lets go to robert and st. Louis. You are on with everett alvarez. Ler to better alvarez commander alvarez, i am a vietnam veteran. Followu and john mccain the order you were given, one ,hing i learned in vietnam nobody knows when they will have their name on an artillery shell. Way. Ut yourself in harms what really makes me cry this who are willing andfor our country you have a president who makes fun of them. Beneficiary. Thank you for your service. Guest many of the veterans whether they were drafted went over and served honorably and are proud of their service, came back and carried on with the rest of their lives. The vietnam experience of coming home, we came home and were given a heroes reception. It was overwhelming. What about those poor kids . 21 kids who can, didnt have it. Many of them can home in caskets and their names are on the wall over here. They served honorably and they gave it their all. In a way it wasnt fair. I have always felt that we should have known better. Today, there is a theme. Dont blame the war on the warrior. So many of the decisions and the way that war was carried out was political. We saw it four years. Our pilots, we were going up against them but we could not go near the bases. Were shot downat by surface to air missiles that we could not touch the missile sites. And suppliesent being unloaded by the ships and we couldnt go it was a crazy 1969,sit wasnt until 1968 that a try to make sense. Caller good morning. I want to appreciate everetts service to our country. I am a vietnam widow, 47 years. I had my first hearing in march of this year. The only benefit i get is my purple heart license tags. I still dont know whats going to happen. Orangerd about the agent , i dont know what will happen to my case, but i have been i was left for four with four dollars, all professional women. I am still fighting for something for myself. I was so glad that i was able to year, froming this day one they told me i had to prove to the government that my vietnams death was service connected. I have not gotten nothing yet but i have not given up. Rescient ofst that is an example dealing with a large yurok receipt a large bureaucracy. I also think it is important to point out the sacrifices of the families. Here she is, with no left with children. So many examples of how they have to struggle with the after effects of losing their loved one like that. My hat goes off to the families and especially to the young veterans, who are remembering the service. Especially the gold star family who lost. I also want to acknowledge those individuals on a day like today. Host one viewer at twitter wants to know, as a veteran as it colored your perspective on war in general . Guest nobody that i note likes war. June joined a new there was a risk, it was involved inut i was the very first axis into vietnam and the escalation of the activities in vietnam at that time. I found myself in the middle watching the war around me. Nobody likes war. Warseople who have fought are the ones who know what it is like. It has not changed my thinking on it at all. Colorado. From caller good morning. And 77. I was off the coast of korea vietnam in the navy, i want to , isay that i read your book. Lso from that era i wanted to tell him i appreciated his service and his courage before trying to get into the navy and aviation and afterwards, it is fantastic. Thank you very much. Host final thought . Day, our this veterans hats go off to our individuals who go and volunteer and in the case of vietnam who were drafted, but really the ones who are off serving today are the and the ones who served in the past, the sacrifices they made, the thanksgivings, the christmas, long periods away from their families, they give up a lot. It is all because of the strong believe of service to our country and in the defense of the freedoms that we have here and trying to expand those freedom to other peoples who are in other nations around the world. To salute those individuals, the youngsters. They are a tremendous group. The veterans, thank you for your sacrifice. Buddies, ie corps get belated happy birthday. Heres a look at one of the books you wrote, called chained ego. It has been a pleasure to have you here. Washington journal continues. , founder and president of an Organization Called final salute. Final salute. The topic this morning is female veterans homelessness. Guest thank you for the opportunity. Host i wanted to talk about the specific figure your organization put out. This is regarding homeless womens veterans in the west on any given day. There are 55,000 homeless Women Veterans. Tell us about them. ,ho are they, where are they how did they find themselves homeless . Guest homelessness among Women Veterans has become a national issue. Some of the root causes are unemployment, Domestic Violence, combat related illness, injuries or wounds, and eligibility or lack of eligibility for benefits. The root issue is the lack of resources for when you are needing one. It is really the biggest problem they are facing. Host tell us about the work of your organization. What is your mission, your goal . How do you go about your business . Guest our mission is to provide homeless Women Veterans with safe housing. We have a transitional home in alexandria, virginia that we support for up to two years. Because ofen women the lack of Resources Available in the own neighborhoods. We also try to prevent homelessness through emergency financial assistance. Tother it is bridge loans get you through a tough time or help with utility bills, etc. We are funded by the grace of god most times. We apply for grants. We have several corporate sponsors that help us annually. Cci has been a big help. We started a competition which has been really helpful for us. It is really people who see the need and come to our aid. Right now we participate in a documentary called serve like a girl. What is also about that is all the proceeds from the soundtrack will go to final salute. These are artists like linda perry, christina aguilera, pink, and pat benatar even did a song. It is great to see we are getting this recognition and people are coming to the aid of women who served. Host we have a lot to talk about with Jaspen Boothe, founder and president of final salute. Two phone lines in this segment. We want to hear from female veterans in particular. Your number is 202 7488000. Everyone else, 202 7488001. How about your story, Jaspen Boothe . You are a former homeless person. Tell us your story and what your circumstances were like. Guest sure. In 2005, i was lieutenant in the army reserves. Shortly after arriving in new orleans i was notified i would be deployed to iraq. I never made it because of significant events. I lost everything in Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and received a cancer diagnosis that september, which left me homeless and jobless. My cancer is in remission, i was 214, discharged the next day and out on the streets. When i went to the v. A. I was told there was no Supportive Housing services for Women Veterans the children. I was a single mother. They couch surf. 70 of the homeless veteran population are single mothers. I know a lot of people look at homelessness as a guy on the street, but there are a lot of us that are homeless because were trying to keep our family together. That was my situation. That just let me know about the lack of resources through my individual experience, bush later spurred me to create final salute which later spurred me to create final salute. Host printable masters degree in Human Resource management and leadership from webster university. Now runs his Organization Called final salute. What was the specific moment that you said i have got to do this . Guest i am born and raised in chicago. One day i was watching the oprah show and she had a homeless woman veteran on her show that was living out of her car. She was a combat veteran. This is several years after my situation happened. I said it have to have improved since then. I went online and tried to find available resources. I could not find anything specifically for housing for Homeless Veterans and their children. I said this is my next mission. I will dedicate the next phase of my life to that. Host the first call for our guest is annie from fairfax, california. Caller good morning. I work in the Mental Health field. I actually have a bipolar illness myself. I wondered if the guest could address the Mental Health angle of this crisis. Thank you. Guest thank you for being open about that. I also have been very open about my battle with major depressive disorder. Yes, it does play a factor. When we look at causality among homelessness, unemployment is one of those things. Its a major factor. If you are not mentally strong, you are not employable, which will perpetuate. You continue along the path. In addition to looking at housing veterans and getting them in the homes, we have to look at ensuring their physical and Mental Wellbeing are taken care of. Thank you. Host some of the demographics of Homeless Veterans, following up on the last call. 11 of the homeless Adult Population are veterans. 51 of individual Homeless Veterans have disabilities. 50 have serious Mental Illness according to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans. 70 have Substance Abuse problems. Years of age or older. Guest that tells me we still have a long way to go. Care froMental Health the department of veterans affairs. I know we have a long way to go. They are doing great in some areas. I think some areas definitely need improvement. There are things we can also do as average, Everyday Americans to fill some of those gaps in the services that are not provided as we need them. Host barbara from virginia, good morning. Caller good morning. Dutynt 12 years on active in the navy. Service was a number of years ago, i never spent any time in a war zone. My question basically is the percentage of female veterans that were in situations like that, how does that compare number wise with male veterans and what is being done to ensure female veterans are not left homeless and in the streets . There iswill say that this big thing about women serving in combat. When you go into iraq and afghanistan, every Service Member is a combat Service Member. Once we come back to our country and we need services, regardless of our job board mos is, we need to have equal support regardless of gender. I think some people look at maybe if you did not serve in a combat, you should not have ptsd or some of the things our male counterparts face. The Biggest Issue is a ra is the raising a stereotype. I have a friend who was a doubleamputee who lost both of her legs to an ied in iraq. There are male and female nets. Across the board male and female amputees. You can also get Mental Health issues. I did not deploy. My springs from Cancer Treatment and related issues. Need to get away from saying, if you deploy, x well happen. Host what are some of the other stories you hear from homeless Women Veterans as you go about your work . Guest i hear some say they have tried to go into shelters but the shelters for the women with children, they could only take a certain number of children. They could only take a certain age of children. Gotdren of a certain gender to a certain age and could not next and the shelter could not mix in the shelter. Some women say i just ate in a Domestic Violence situation just to keep me and my children together. That should never be an option for someone who served our country. Everyone should have a safe space. You should not have lose her children because you are trying to survive. Host is this relegated to one or several particular parts of the country . Or is the problem of homeless fema veterans spread all over the country homeless female veterans spread over the country . Guest you have states like california, georgia, the d. C. Metro area, we have a huge number of female veterans. Across the nation, it is a National Epidemic that we still have not got a handle on. Host patty had much conversation with the administration, the v. A. , the white house, congress . Have gone to many listening sessions and went to many panels that they have had. One thing i get back all the time is the lack of Supportive Services for Women Veterans is because of our unwillingness to identify as a veteran. Do you know how many Women Veterans are . I have identified the population for you. We know how many of us have theed the boots worn boots and how many still stand. You dont have the same stipulation on haiow male veterans are treated. We should have a better handle on how we are treating veterans equally and not trying to shift the blame to what we are not doing. Host lets hear from lori in maryland for Jaspen Boothe. Hello. Good morning. Caller good morning. I served from 1974 to 1980 as a nurse. My problem is in the state of maryland there isnt any place for women in the nursing home setting for longterm care. I just recently got here at perry point an opening for a few women, but that is the setting we are fighting for women with disabilities in this state. They have to go through brutality in the collect to be able to be placed someplace where they are safe. They are usually thrown in the Nursing Homes and subjected to abuse. I fought the v. A. System for over a year and a half to get my spouse placed into the baltimore v. A. Where i felt she could be safe. Is egregious. Ofens services in the state maryland are almost negligible. Anything to do with homeless, but it has to do with the treatment of women vets in the state of maryland. Host lets hear from Jaspen Boothe. Guest i dont think you should have to hit rock bottom in order to get Supportive Services. I have noticed through my advocacy some veterans who need that temporary support cant get it until they are actually homeless. I dont think we should be placing anyone into that state of despair. You mentioned earlier 70 of the Homeless Demographic have Substance Abuse problems. You have to think if they have Substance Abuse problems before they were homeless . Actually getting homeless driving to alcohol and drug abuse . Are we causing more problems by waiting too long . The solution to homelessness isnt more homes, it is less Homeless Veterans. We have studied the root causes substantially. We should be able to get ahead of it at this point. Host pat from kentucky. Caller good morning. I served in world war ii. I have five brothers in and my dad was in. I decided to join and get the were over with. I washat i told s trying to say i served in washington, d. C. We were out for a sunday stroll and i saw limiting the having limousine come down the avenue. Theirls with me had hats in their belt. Low in the hold it stopped right in front of us, within spitting distance. The back window went down and it was roosevelt. He said, good morning, girls. Im so proud of you. I was the one with the mouth and i told him we were proud of him. He looked at me and asked why i had joined the service. Isaid i have five brothers n. One was a prisoner of war and i felt like i had to do something to get the war over with. He said i bet you will do it. I said with your help, sir, we will. That was a real interesting phase of my years in the coast guard. Host a question for our guest . Are you still there . Guest yes. Host i wanted to see if he had a question for our guest and the Worker Organization is doing . Guest well, i have always been alert of people that had been in the military over the years. I was born right after world war i. Wars. R to end all i had many friends in the military. My husband was in the marines. He stayed in the corps for 23 years. Host pat, i think we lost to. Thank you for your point. Jaspen boothe, what would you say to that world war ii veteran . Guest i would thank her for her service. It was a woman like her who answered the call early on that me and my sisters were able to serve today. I thank you for the response you gave us at that time. It was a Family Tradition for you. I am also married to a marine, in my oldest serves in the air force. For a lot of us it does become a Family Tradition. I do appreciate you from one woman veteran to another. Host cornelius from louisiana. Caller thank you, cspan for what you are doing for veterans. I want to thank you and your family for what you are doing for this female vets. I was a village every police officer. They are tougher than some mail ale mps. I hope you have on your website a physical address and a phone number. I dont have a computer. Of one of these kind of vets they dont have much, but i would like to contribute to your organization. Thank you so much and god bless you. Happy and blessed veterans day to you. Host tell us two things. Guest i was a soldier for 17 years in the army. I started out in listed as a truck driver. Then i commissioned as an officer and became a Human Resources officer, which was the bulk of my military career. I thank you for your service. All the information is on our website. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a soldier. We joke and make fun of each other, but i said the army is the best branch. Host what is the first step for veteran whooman might be finding herself homeless or thinks she might find yourself homeless . What is the first step they should be taking . A woman that was a contact organization, go directly online and we have a system where you can apply online. 214 eye tellsr dd about your circumstance. Nonprofits cant operate unless they are funded. Usually we have the funding, we can get to them within 72 hours which is critical when they are trying to prevent them from being evicted. 211. Olso know there is a rg, the National Resource directory for veterans looking for local resources. Has as a Resource Center a Resource Center and a hotline for veterans who are in need of mental support as well. Host onto amy from northport, alabama. Good morning. Caller good morning. I have just retired from the u. S. Army. I was in for over. 20 plus years over 20 plus years. It was a requirement together Transitional Services. Might Transitional Services were very detailed. My question is before a Service Member and their military ends their military career, how can we identify with those Homeless Veterans may be . That way we can have more programs in place or provide help before they retire or before they leave the service. Guest thank you. I went through that process as well. I know what you are going to the transition process a lot of focus is on making sure you have your resume translated to civilian fields. I was never asked if i had anywhere to go or anything like that. I think we put a lot of that responsibility on the military, but for me it is not the militarys job to teach me how to be a civilian and return to civilian life. It is their responsibility to teach me how to be a soldier. I think we need to find some type of bridge between dod where they allow for a longer transitional period where they can properly assess your needs and if you may face homelessness based on any mental, physical disabilities or challenges you have. That was something i did not go through, what you think could be a big help. The military cannot take soldiers out of the ranks for a long period of time because we still have a mission. There should be a process by which they are still on active duty but allowed six months to a year transition process to properly assess and make sure they dont fall into that homelessness. Host you have access to loans for some Homeless Veterans. With that includes College Loans . Talk to us about folks who might be able to take that. Guest they are more like grants to help women fleeing Domestic Violence situations. If they cant afford to give the first and last months rent, we can provide that. For people trying to prevent being evicted, we help them that way. Sometimes life just happens. You dont plan to get divorced and have to separate from your family. You dont plan for a Domestic Violence situation. You dont plan to be unemployed. We help when life happens because those things dont discriminate against you because you are a veteran. I think there are emergency resources that are vital to prevent you from becoming homeless. Host what else should people know about your organization and services it offers . How they can take part by making a contribution . We have been around almost eight years now. We supported over 3600 Women Veterans. We have been able to raise 3 million, but we still the support. They need is only increasing. It is not declining. Steadily takes 25 a day to support a homeless woman veteran, get her child in our transitional home. That includes food, clothing, supportive resources and Financial Education and counseling, have to apply for v. A. Benefits. Is a wellrounded approach to health and get back on their feet. Host robert from kentucky four Jaspen Boothe for Jaspen Boothe. Caller how are you doing today . I have come up with a little plan for this homeless stuff. When these veterans we can set of buildings across each state that could donate money to the Homeless Veterans. That way money would be coming in for the Homeless Veterans and women and men. I think that would really work. That money could go to that lady on tv and god bless her. I love her to death and thank her for her service. She is just a great lady. Host final thoughts . Guest i believe homelessness has to start at the community level. I think any approaches are great approaches that will lessen but we have to deal with. Human resources are available in local communities. Talk to your local representative and politicians to see what they can do and start some Grassroots Efforts in your own backyard. Host Jaspen Boothe, fatter and president of final salute. Org. Is theinc. Website. And also from washington a discussion on encouraging veterans to run for office. This is about 25 minutes. Rye barcott. Thank you for joining us. You attained the rank of captain. Organization, with honor, whats it all about . Mr. Barcott this was founded by veterans, to elect the next generations of veterans to congress. We dont think its a cool incidents that congress is so dysfunctional but their level of representation is at an alltime low in the United States, 19 . It wasnt long ago it was over half the members in the u. S. Served in uniform as veterans. We think there is a connection between the level of polarization and dysfunction and the amount of veterans in office. Total members of congress were veterans 102, the house as 82 and the senate has 20. Why is it important to have veterans in congress . Thebarcott the first is focus on service and being able to Work Together and get things done. Are support veterans across 100 next over next generation veterans, some whose we are focused on character. These veterans have worked together and know what it means to take until challenges. Of them are nonpartisan. There was an article that came out yesterday about to veterans daschle,ed, lugar and what they look that was the amount of bipartisanship between veterans and nonveterans. Veterans have been able to Work Together. The can battle it out on floor but still have the decency to talk to each other afterwards and get things done. E are focused on character on our website we have a pledge, its based on three values. Integrity, civility, and courage. That includes the courage to work across the aisle and do tangible things like cosponsor a piece of legislation and meet with someone from the other side for once a month and form a caucus. Fixneed a coalition to something as challenging as congress. Lets put the phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. We look forward to your calling in and asking questions and making comments to the guest. Honor. Org is the website. Take us back with your experience of being a veteran. Mr. Barcott i served with some of those shown men and women, i served in iraq. Should be what service was all about. The quality and caliber of the people that i worked with. We would be on a mission one day where we were involved in fighting and combat, and the next day be involved with trying to set up a city council in a place like solutia. Unite you. I never asked what the party was of the person that was standing next to me. We were focused on accomplishing things that were larger than ourselves. , is thatem right now the cost to run for election is ridiculous. It has gone by five times over the last 20 years. This bars the entry too many young and woman. Is werere doing bringing strategic National Resources to help these candidates win, and in many cases when in the primaries which is a very important place. A lot of them need to get their start and those kind of resources can move the needle. Host how are you funded and how do you find the people . The exciting news is there are over a hundred next generation veterans, men and women who served after 9 11. We mapped out the district. In the next couple of months we do Due Diligence is based on character and competitiveness. We are selecting the top 2535 of these candidates and raising resources from americans that care about this and realize that right now where congress is dysfunctional. In those resources will be spent in some Strategic National be we have apple admiral michael , a great robert gates group of next generations, some fanvance, educating character and the importance of families and ethics in our schools. Americans thatf are united around this common cause. We need to put principles before politics. And get things done. We have lots of calls coming in. Only cofounder, youre also an mba from harvard. St call from shreve for report, louisiana. Caller thank you for cspan. That im 25 years old. Not many people my age understand how great the military can be. Example, they do 3dthis stuff, test fiberglass, protect knowledge he the technology these days. They dont know how great the military can be. The internet has changed everything. It is a great situation it really is. Its veryt interesting where we are in. Merica these days area i saw a statistic about congress that theres no trust in congress, 12 approval rating. This is why an organization like ours is important. Party solutions alone will not solve the problem. We need people who can Work Together and get things done. A single individual alone will not be able to fix a place like congress, you need to be able to build a critical mass. There are over 100 nextgeneration veterans running across United States. Mr. Barcott what things would you like to get done in congress . Mr. Barcott our pledge focuses , integrity, civility and courage. Including the kurds to work across the aisle and talk to each other. Onhave an interesting video our website that looks at the way that Congress People voted across party lines 50 years. 50 years ago there was stuff that got done that matter to real americans. People were voting across party lines. Almost now you have almost none of that. Gridlock, it was it is a hot mess. If you have a coalition, it doesnt need to be that large in terms of numbers. 40 members on both sides that are focused on putting the Country First and putting principles before politics, that is a step in the right direction and it is what we need. Host are there specific issues that unite veterans . Mr. Barcott this is common our real focus is on character and not specific policies. That is important in order to bring this group together and unite us. Host james in minnesota, good morning. Caller rochester, michigan. No worries. Great guest and great opportunity. You answered my question regarding the funding. Once you get these veterans elected to congress how do you p them in the spirit of how do you keep them from falling into a caucus, really focusing on getting reelected . Our vision for the organization which is also on our website is focused on 2018. Ss and the house in the house may be the most difficult of all government bodies. Our longer term vision for the supporttion is to nextgeneration veterans who are running across the United States including in state and local elections, to be a Broader Organization for the United States. In order to keep people accountable, thats why we have a pledge. Some people might say we have heard about pledges before. Is they are very specific concrete actions that the members agree to take. A lot of the next generation veterans, they not only believe them but are part of them and part of their dna. One of the actions issue return money if it will take your integrity. You dont lie or attack an opponent in an and. These can be measured and health accountable. They will be able to support incumbents once they are in office and i think that will be part of it, do you live up to what you say you are going to do. Host madison, mississippi. Go ahead. Caller i am a retired military, blasted to travel to four corners of the world. Bem coming to the to im going to testify on how to deal with north korea. Then, ias president retired from the core this year to do the work and i know what is going on in russia and the middle east at this time. I never could get to the right people because they had so much politics lining up against them. I am willing to testify sometime in the future. I am a veteran. We can do much more. I agree with you. Thank you for your service. A dont think it is coincidence that the representation in congress is at a record low, 19 of congress and yet dysfunction is at an alltime high. The good news about veterans is regarding regardless of your Party Affiliation you know how to Work Together and get things done. I appreciate you mentioning the north korea situation. Members, former secretary of state George Shultz , also a world war ii beretta. Host what kind of skill sets to veterans have that lead to Successful Service in congress . The Proven Ability to serve and put service above self. Super important these days. The ability to Work Together on tough problems and often under duress. I remember a 22yearold that i served with a couple in the marine corps. Grew up in a hard situation, found his way into the marine corps and iraq was leading a squad of 10 worries into battle and was awarded the silver star. He was leading at 22 years old. Work what it means to together in situations that matter. Thats what we need more of in congress. In alabama. Caller my question is what do bergdahl about bowe receiving 300,000 for walking off of his post and seven guys were killed rescuing him. No telling how may people he had gotten him killed because of information he gave to the telepath and they are paying him three her thousand dollars. I just dont understand our government anymore. I dont have a specific opinion on that case. Obviously it is a serious case. Were not saying every veteran is a part of the solution either. There are over 100 nextgeneration veterans who will run for office and we are selecting the top 25 or 35. Host how would you connect that group of 25 or 32 the money . Mr. Barcott the way the Organization Works is we are a super pac, that means we are and can runy Campaign Expenditures for the candidates that we support. We have the ability to participate in primary elections. A lot of these folks are not affluent. In order to even have credibility a politician has to raise a few hundred thousand dollars. Affluent. Circles, they cant even get their start. We are going to fix that by getting these Strategic Resources in and helping these young men and women. Host do they come with the knowledge of the many issues they face on the kill or do you have to remember is he . Mr. Barcott we work with some great partners that are focused on education and recruiting of veterans. That quality of candidate needs to start with character. And thatswe screen why our pledge focuses on integrity, credibility and current. When you have that is a bedrock you can build on it. A lot of the candidates are not focused on the issue. And thats a good thing. They are not particularly went to special interest, if that are of and achieve things from their. Caller good morning. I have experience when i was in and my was in a joint chief of death of the pentagon. I lived in liberty, alex andrea and serving in the air force, the marines and the army joint didntof staff, some all have anything else to do and that was nothing else. What do you think . Mr. Barcott thanks for that comment. Just mentioning admiral the socalled, reince me of my father who was a vietnam veteran. Advisoryund one of our isk members of this armor admiral michael mullen. There is a desire to find solutions in america. We have been able to see the andh both former leaders nextgeneration veterans who are coming together to unite around this vision. Host on to bob in michigan. Caller good morning. One thing i want to mention is behind you10 because we need more veterans to get into office and. Dont let anybody by you often are you in here pocket. And they talk about its area. Thats how you get it. You will gain experience once you get there. I am behind him 100 or so. Cds. In the fighting even where i live i am taking about running for office here in the township the next time they have an election. You get people in there and they want to state were ever and after two terms they should be out the door, no retirement. Bob, what does what would a veteran ring to congress that is not there now . Caller he can bring a lot of experience that he has learned over the years and make basic change. Host what office do you want to run for . Caller the township supervisor next time they have an election. Mr. Barcott thanks for your service. Founded withy we is because there are so many veterans in particular that are hungry to serve again but high barriers to entry. The average cost of a congressional race is 2 million 3 million. An incredible barrier to entry. We need strategic National Resources in order to get these veterans into office who can help unite us and make this country put it on the right course. Host daniel from north carolina. Caller let me predicate what i will say here was this. I in no way equates mine service with combat veterans. Inborn in 19 turkeys 1936. I served in the air force through 5559. i had a small part in the development of two Weapons Systems that ours will currently in the arsenal of the armed forces, the air to air side winder guided missile and the antitank dotted missile. I am proud of my service but i would like to ricky lies knows or in war veterans, that they did serve and they did their part in the armed forces effort. Thank you. Host final thought on that caller and on your organization and your work in the future as well. Mr. Barcott we are with honor. Org, check us out. We are delighted to be here and delighted to have launched nationally here on veterans day. Is founder of cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up this morning, Donna Brazile discusses her new book on the 2016 president ial campaign. About theley talks future of the Republican Party in the trump era. Be sure to watch washington neural washington journal. Join the discussion. This week on q a, we look at the lives of the eight jewish justices that serve in the supreme court. Our guest is an author. One of the themes of my book is the decline in antisemitism within the american legal profession. There was one that was notoriously antisemitic. Point, hooverge had the audacity to dominate. He wrote a letter on his stationary saying, how dare you afflict the court with another hebrew. Tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. President trump was in vietnam for a summit with leaders from 21 nations in attendance discussing trade and other issues. Among the attendees was vladimir putin. President trump and couldnt reportedly did not have any formal meetings at the summit, but they spoke several times on the sidelines. Here is a look at the group photo session. [cameras clicking] [inaudible conversations] at the economic conference, President Trump delivered a speech in which he discussed the regions economy and u. S. Vietnam economic relations. This is just over 30 minutes