Speaker 1: If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough. You're
Speaker 1: listening to Software Radio Special operations, military news and straight
Speaker 1: talk with the guys and the community. Hello everyone, welcome
Speaker 1: back to Software Radio. I'm your host of this afternoon.
Speaker 1: Excuse me, Steve bals Druri joining me is we have
Speaker 1: a very special guest. She's here to talk about Code
Speaker 1: of Vets as something founded by herself. Is Gretchen Smith.
Speaker 1: She's an Air Force veteran. We're gonna talk to her
Speaker 1: about this. This is a a great organization that's out
Speaker 1: there helping veterans. She's got about I don't know about
Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty thousand followers on Twitter, I believe,
Speaker 1: and and also a big following on Facebook. So if
Speaker 1: you're looking for something to donate to to help veterans,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna get into all of this, check out
Speaker 1: Code of Vets. But right now we want to welcome
Speaker 1: Gretchen too the to the podcast. As she answered the
Speaker 1: call and that's one of the things we love about
Speaker 1: military people that they'll answer the call. And I was
Speaker 1: a last minute thing. We contacted her just this afternoon
Speaker 1: and she's making time for us, so uh, we greatly appreciate. Gretchen,
Speaker 1: Welcome to Software Radio and thanks for taking the time today.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, it's a pleasure. See thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: You know, veterans we adapt and overcome so any time,
Speaker 1: and uh with you know, as we talked about offline
Speaker 1: just a little bit, but you know, it was it's
Speaker 1: been in such a crazy week with the election and
Speaker 1: everything going on, and you know, we had we dropped
Speaker 1: the ball on our end when it came to our
Speaker 1: our podcast this week. So uh, you know, we contacted
Speaker 1: you and you answer the call and and we greatly
Speaker 1: appreciate that. Oh hey, I'm excited. I just want to
Speaker 1: say thank you for sharing our mission. It's such a beautiful,
Speaker 1: sacred one. Absolutely, And you know, we're we're at that
Speaker 1: time of the year, we're getting their Veterans Day where
Speaker 1: you know, people become a little bit more aware of veterans,
Speaker 1: and you know, for those of us who served, we're
Speaker 1: aware of veterans and and some of the struggles that
Speaker 1: they faced year round. But you know, for our public,
Speaker 1: there's always so much going on with them, and as
Speaker 1: it is right now, you know, sometimes veterans get pushed
Speaker 1: onto the back burner and and this is a great
Speaker 1: time to bring awareness to you know, what you guys
Speaker 1: do and what you're up to. But first I wanted
Speaker 1: to talk a little bit about yourself. UM, you know,
Speaker 1: filling our listeners all about Gretchen Smith where you're from.
Speaker 1: I know you were an Air Force that and you know,
Speaker 1: talked a little bit about that as well. Well, you
Speaker 1: know what, I grew up in poverty and in a
Speaker 1: in a family that was dysfunctional, and so for me,
Speaker 1: the military was a way out to start my own
Speaker 1: life to create a sense of normalcy in the Air Force.
Speaker 1: I may not have been good for the Air Force
Speaker 1: upfront initially, but the Air Force was great for me.
Speaker 1: It just gave me a stable environment, a family. UM
Speaker 1: just really instilled the values that I needed to have
Speaker 1: a successful life. I met my husband over Ramsigned, Germany,
Speaker 1: where we were both serving, and it just was a
Speaker 1: good fit for us. And we both looked back at
Speaker 1: our time in the military and you know, in the
Speaker 1: Air Force and just really give credit to that foundation
Speaker 1: that was created for us as we moved transition from
Speaker 1: teenage years into young adulthood. UM, the Air Force instilled
Speaker 1: those values that we needed, UM, in order to be
Speaker 1: a successful city sense, and we have had an incredible life.
Speaker 1: We've created our own version of the American dream, and
Speaker 1: we were proud to be airman. Uh. And so that
Speaker 1: that's you know that. And I grew up in North Carolina,
Speaker 1: the mountains of North Carolina. So when I did join
Speaker 1: the Air Force, oh my gosh, it was such an
Speaker 1: eye opener for me because I, you know, I grew
Speaker 1: up in a bubble, so to speak, and in the
Speaker 1: Appalachian region and uh, you know, just very very poor,
Speaker 1: very and just had a very limited view of life.
Speaker 1: And so when I was able to travel with the
Speaker 1: Air Force and serve overseas, I was like a sponge,
Speaker 1: you know. I really, I really grew up. And it
Speaker 1: gave me just a great broad world view, um of
Speaker 1: who we are as Americans and how unique our country
Speaker 1: truly is. It's extraordinary. And it gave me just a
Speaker 1: deeper sense of pride and patriotism to know that we
Speaker 1: live in the greatest um country known demands. That's a
Speaker 1: great way to put it. In fact, you know, it's
Speaker 1: funny you mentioned that, because when you're talking about growing
Speaker 1: up in the mountains of North Carolina, I always remember
Speaker 1: I was a Special Forces UH instructor at the s
Speaker 1: F School and UH one of the courses we ran
Speaker 1: for officers, I was manning a point out in the
Speaker 1: middle of nowhere and right near a church in the
Speaker 1: mountains in North Carolina, and officers would have to navigate
Speaker 1: across the mountain and check in. And there was old
Speaker 1: man who lived up in right near the church. And
Speaker 1: he saw my little tent set up there. And I
Speaker 1: was up there all week, and him and his dog
Speaker 1: would come up and see me every day and would
Speaker 1: shoot the breeze about things. And and I asked him
Speaker 1: how long he had been living up there in the mountains.
Speaker 1: He said he was born in the house he lived in,
Speaker 1: and UH, his grandfather actually built the house and that's
Speaker 1: been their home. And I, you know, we talked about
Speaker 1: traveling and being in the military, and he was just
Speaker 1: shaking his head. The farthest he ever had been is Asheville,
Speaker 1: which was only about fifteen miles away, and he was like,
Speaker 1: he was like, yeah, he's like I can't even, you know,
Speaker 1: fathom going that far away. He's like, the farthest I
Speaker 1: ever went with Asheville because him and his wife they
Speaker 1: went to Asheville, which was fifteen miles away about more
Speaker 1: or less. I grew up very close to Asheville. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's funny. Yah, mountain people, they don't they don't venture
Speaker 1: too far off the mountain, that's for sure. And that
Speaker 1: was their honeymoon and he was like, yeah, we you know,
Speaker 1: we got in there and saw the city of Asheville,
Speaker 1: and then we came home and we've been living on
Speaker 1: the farm ever since. Yeah, it sounds like my can
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful part of the country. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: I love the mountains. I you know, you know. I
Speaker 1: my dad is buried in Waynesville, North Carolina, where both
Speaker 1: sides of my family are from, in Haywood County, and
Speaker 1: it's just it's every time I go there to visit,
Speaker 1: I just it's just it's so beautiful. I absolutely of
Speaker 1: everything about it. I definitely would love to retire down it.
Speaker 1: I told you earlier down in Florida, but I would
Speaker 1: love to have a little place in the mountains, just
Speaker 1: to be able to go visit that's great even um,
Speaker 1: and to reconnect with my family. Um. It was just
Speaker 1: it was a special way to grow up. We were very,
Speaker 1: very poor. We were We definitely lived in poverty, Um,
Speaker 1: but there were some you know, there was dysfunction, but
Speaker 1: I have some beautiful memories of romping around in the mountains. Well,
Speaker 1: it's a great place to grow up. And I know
Speaker 1: growing up poor isn't the greatest thing, but I mean
Speaker 1: you could pick a lot worse places to grow up
Speaker 1: than in the mountains in North Carolina. Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1: And let's talk about your dad, Um, you mentioned your
Speaker 1: dad's buried up there, because this is how you you
Speaker 1: started your code for vets was you know, your inspiration
Speaker 1: was your father? And please tell us all about him. Yeah, dad,
Speaker 1: You know Dad obviously you know he grew up in
Speaker 1: the North Carolina too, was a mount boy, and he
Speaker 1: volunteer to served. He was an airborne infantry served in Vietnam,
Speaker 1: and he came back and changed man Steve. He just
Speaker 1: never really did get the help that he needed. He
Speaker 1: turned to drugs and alcohol and was very unstable. Had
Speaker 1: just lived a very chaotic life. But he did reach
Speaker 1: out once when he had initially come back some more.
Speaker 1: He went to the the v A actually in Asheville,
Speaker 1: North Carolina, and he was told he had something called
Speaker 1: shell shock, uh, and the doctor told him he needed
Speaker 1: to suck it up and be a man and basically
Speaker 1: never speak of it again. And you know, it was PTSD,
Speaker 1: and he just he never could um get over what
Speaker 1: he had done, what he had seen the sites of smell.
Speaker 1: Some of his you know, closest buddies were killed right
Speaker 1: beside him, and very gruesome and glory ways. And you know,
Speaker 1: Dad was a point man, and you know he did
Speaker 1: he had done some stuff. So he he just could
Speaker 1: not find that piece and he did not get to help.
Speaker 1: And I lost Dad back in two thousand five and
Speaker 1: I sat down with him, probably five years before he died,
Speaker 1: and I was crying, and I just said, Dad, what
Speaker 1: are you doing? You know? Yeah, I love you. You
Speaker 1: know you've got kids and grandkids that need you. And
Speaker 1: he just looked at me, see, with just big tears
Speaker 1: in his eyes, and they just started rolling and he said, Gretchen,
Speaker 1: I'm tired. He said, I'm tired, and I can't fight
Speaker 1: them anymore. He said they've wont and he said I'm
Speaker 1: ready to go home. I'm done. Uh. And it just
Speaker 1: that conversation really stuck with me. Those words seared my soul,
Speaker 1: and I wanted to do something um to honor my
Speaker 1: dad's life, his service and his death, and and so
Speaker 1: I started codivets, you know, as a Twitter page to
Speaker 1: honor him and just to talk about him from you know,
Speaker 1: a daughter's perspective. I love my dad. He was my hero,
Speaker 1: even though he wasn't the greatest dad in the world. Um,
Speaker 1: I understood that there were a lot of you know,
Speaker 1: troubles that came with that from his time in war.
Speaker 1: And I Codivets exploded from day one. It really took off,
Speaker 1: and a year later it became a nonprofit and we've
Speaker 1: been able to do some phenomenal work, um stemming from
Speaker 1: my dad's death. So I truly have turned it into
Speaker 1: something powerful, into something good. That's fantastic, and you know
Speaker 1: that's it's such a it's such a powerful story, and
Speaker 1: it's a typical one. Unfortunately for the guys who came
Speaker 1: back from Vietnam, we didn't know how to handle things,
Speaker 1: and we still really don't when it comes to PTSD.
Speaker 1: We're getting better with it, but we're still not there
Speaker 1: by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, it's a
Speaker 1: struggle now. Unfortunately, a lot of those guys from that generation,
Speaker 1: you know, they were cast aside and Uh, it's something
Speaker 1: our country shouldn't be very proud of when it comes
Speaker 1: to that. Um, you know, I know even our veterans
Speaker 1: of today, they don't do enough. I don't believe for
Speaker 1: PTSD and we still don't understand it enough, you know.
Speaker 1: I think that's something they're they're putting a lot of
Speaker 1: money and effort in too. I mean, you look at
Speaker 1: all the veteran suicides and a lot of that is
Speaker 1: SEMs straight from PTSD. And it's so sad to hear that.
Speaker 1: And your dad was also exposed to agent orange as well,
Speaker 1: did Yeah, yeah, yeah. He He had a lot of
Speaker 1: medical issues as well, which I think contributed just to
Speaker 1: his giving up. Um. He had diabetes, He had one
Speaker 1: of his toes had been resurgically removed, he was amputated,
Speaker 1: and they were he almost lost his foot, but they
Speaker 1: were the VA was able to save the foot and
Speaker 1: just took one toe. They had a lot of different
Speaker 1: in medical issues seeming from the agent orange. And you
Speaker 1: know he was tired, not only you know, mentally and emotionally,
Speaker 1: but physically as well, just fighting that fight. Um, just
Speaker 1: from that exposure and it caused it was causing so
Speaker 1: much to the image in his body as he was
Speaker 1: aging and in Dad was a hundred percent service connect
Speaker 1: and it just you know, and Dad did not shoot
Speaker 1: himself did He did not overdose on pills. And I
Speaker 1: I want to share this because I think our veterans
Speaker 1: need to hear this. When you know, when I was
Speaker 1: talking to Dad and he he said, you see that
Speaker 1: gun sitting over their aggression. He said, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to blow my head off because I love you kids
Speaker 1: too much. And then he pointed at the bottle. He said,
Speaker 1: you see that bottle. He said, it's going to do
Speaker 1: the exact same thing, and it did. The sugar and
Speaker 1: the alcohol. Dad knew it was his plan. It was
Speaker 1: the way his way out. We tried to do interventions
Speaker 1: and it just didn't work. Dad was done with living.
Speaker 1: He just had given up, and so he drank himself
Speaker 1: to death. And I think there are so many veterans
Speaker 1: out there that are they do the same thing with
Speaker 1: the same purpose in mind. They know it's going to
Speaker 1: end their life, and we don't count those deaths, and
Speaker 1: we should be when uh, it's it's for me. There
Speaker 1: are so many deaths in our community. And that's why
Speaker 1: I was so compelled. You know, to a start code
Speaker 1: of VATS and just to start talking about it, because
Speaker 1: there is still some stigma attached to PTSD and we
Speaker 1: still have such an issue with suicide in our community
Speaker 1: from different ways. Some you know, some of them some
Speaker 1: some of them crashed their car or motorcycle into a tree.
Speaker 1: We've got you know, homeless of that out under a
Speaker 1: h a bridge who've odeed, you know, and they they'll
Speaker 1: they'll log it up or it'll be classified as an
Speaker 1: you know, an accidental overdose or something, and so, but
Speaker 1: there's just it's I think it's rampant in our community,
Speaker 1: and I really think that we need to talk about
Speaker 1: it as a veteran and figure it out together. I
Speaker 1: don't think throw the money um at suicide it's going
Speaker 1: to fix it. I think it's a heart issue. It's
Speaker 1: a sole issue, and we are the ones that need
Speaker 1: to come together in historic numbers, and I think we're
Speaker 1: the solution. Steve. I think it's our community helping each other,
Speaker 1: being there for each other, um creating like an informal
Speaker 1: national networks just to be there in those dark moments.
Speaker 1: We have actually three CODI vets because we operate purely
Speaker 1: on social media platforms and primarily Twitter, but we've been
Speaker 1: able to save several lives by being there in those
Speaker 1: particular moments. All they have to do with send a
Speaker 1: direct message and you know, to me or my partner,
Speaker 1: to our our team and just say I'm in trouble,
Speaker 1: I'm done. You know, I can't do this anymore. And
Speaker 1: when you can get a veteran another veteran there to
Speaker 1: talk them through it in those dark moments, um, there
Speaker 1: you know, there's there's a big chance that they're going
Speaker 1: to pull through that and and live to see another day.
Speaker 1: It's just when our veterans isolate themselves and shut themselves
Speaker 1: out and refuse to reach out, those are the ones
Speaker 1: that are really worry about. Those are the ones who
Speaker 1: just do it. But for the ones who are thinking
Speaker 1: about it or on that ledge and they reach out, UM,
Speaker 1: it's powerful to have somebody there that say I care
Speaker 1: about you, what is going on and just listen to
Speaker 1: what they have to say and let them get it
Speaker 1: off their chest, what what they've been carrying all these years.
Speaker 1: I couldn't agree more with what you just said right there,
Speaker 1: because that's one of the things that social media is
Speaker 1: really good for. And now we all complain about social media,
Speaker 1: and with good cause at times, because it can be
Speaker 1: a quagmire I think out there. But you know, when
Speaker 1: it comes to veterans especially you know, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: uh some of our older vets, a lot of those
Speaker 1: people are isolated. And that's one of the things that
Speaker 1: that I know, speaking personally, since Facebook came around and
Speaker 1: we didn't have that when I when I get out
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, all the guys I knew and
Speaker 1: Special Forces now we all stay in touch now and
Speaker 1: it's really really good because you know, when we find
Speaker 1: out when somebody's heartening, when somebody needs assistance, and a
Speaker 1: lot of times guys won't ask for it, but you know,
Speaker 1: it comes to yeah, there's a lot of pride. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of pride in our community. And that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's another message I try to get out there is
Speaker 1: set that aside. You know, do not choose suicide because
Speaker 1: there's there's always a path forward, there's always hope, um,
Speaker 1: and you're here for a reason, you know. Take in
Speaker 1: your life. It just it devastates not only the immediate family,
Speaker 1: but the friends and the people that you've served with
Speaker 1: in the military. They're just a ripple effect and all
Speaker 1: of us have to carry each and single one of
Speaker 1: these deaths, and it's just it's horrific. Um, it's and
Speaker 1: it's very harmful to us. So I'm all for and
Speaker 1: I really do believe in us being there for each
Speaker 1: other in those moments. I think it makes a huge difference.
Speaker 1: And I love your community, the Special Forces community, because
Speaker 1: you guys are real tight. You're you know well, and
Speaker 1: you're small. You're a small, small group, and you can't
Speaker 1: have each other's backs, and um, it's amazing. You know,
Speaker 1: we need to follow your lead and just and continue
Speaker 1: to grow and not just Code vets, but all of
Speaker 1: our VET orgs out there, you know, just to connect
Speaker 1: with each other and find ways to save as many
Speaker 1: vets as we can. Yeah, and you know that was
Speaker 1: one of the issues, was Vietnam, because the guys went
Speaker 1: over there singularly and came back singularly, so they lost that,
Speaker 1: you know, they lost that camaraderie and exposure to their
Speaker 1: fellow vets, and you know, guys would separate and you know, guys,
Speaker 1: you know, when one fellow came home, they were you know,
Speaker 1: all of his buddies were still over there and so
Speaker 1: it was easier for them to lose touch than it
Speaker 1: is nowadays, where you know, guys like myself, we we
Speaker 1: worked and lived in small units, so we were able
Speaker 1: to maintain contact with each other. But when you talked
Speaker 1: about the stigma about seeking help, especially with PTSD, it
Speaker 1: was funny because just a couple of months ago, I
Speaker 1: had General Don Bouldock, who used to be one of
Speaker 1: the generals in charge of special operations, and he's been
Speaker 1: the only general officer that came forward to admit that
Speaker 1: he's had trouble and he needed help with PTSD. And
Speaker 1: he got a lot of um, a lot of light
Speaker 1: thrown on it when he came forward, because he was
Speaker 1: the first general officer to come forward and admit it
Speaker 1: that he had problems. And we had a really good
Speaker 1: talk with him a couple of months ago, because I
Speaker 1: think this is something that again I think you hit
Speaker 1: the nail on the head, you know, I mean, all
Speaker 1: the research in the world, I think it's great. You know,
Speaker 1: if they can find a way to reach through the
Speaker 1: myriad of brain functions to figure out what can help,
Speaker 1: I think that's great. But nothing helps vets more than
Speaker 1: being able to talk with another one exactly exactly. I
Speaker 1: am familiar with General Baldock and you know, I've seen him.
Speaker 1: I saw a little bit of his story out on
Speaker 1: social media. I practically live on Twitter. But yeah, he
Speaker 1: he did a great service to our community by stepping forward.
Speaker 1: We need more of our a freschelon to to to
Speaker 1: come forward to help us out. It's just suicide just
Speaker 1: isn't in rank and file. It's it's in our officers
Speaker 1: as well. It impacts the entire community. And it just
Speaker 1: helps to see when you know a general has you know,
Speaker 1: the fortitude like General Baldock to come forward to say, hey,
Speaker 1: you know this, this was an issue for me. I
Speaker 1: had to go get help. And veterans need to know
Speaker 1: it's okay. You know, you can't you can't suck it up,
Speaker 1: you can't embrace the suck um. PTSD is something different.
Speaker 1: It's something that some of our brothers and sisters in
Speaker 1: arms need help with. And if there's but we also
Speaker 1: need to talk about and look at the fact that
Speaker 1: they are risking their security clearance and their gun rights
Speaker 1: as well. So that's we need to continue to work
Speaker 1: on that. Because I know veterans personally that I've tried
Speaker 1: to help. They've had their gun rights taken from them
Speaker 1: because they've reached out for help, and that's just not right.
Speaker 1: You know, if they're reaching out to get the assistance
Speaker 1: they need, there's no reason we should be pulling their
Speaker 1: rights permanently. So, yeah, it's a fine line they walk.
Speaker 1: And we've had veterans, you know, with with jobs where
Speaker 1: they've had to have their security clearance. It's it's how
Speaker 1: they make their living, and they've been afraid to reach
Speaker 1: out for help. So there's not still some things that
Speaker 1: we need to improve upon and that they should never
Speaker 1: lose their security clearance for asking for help. UM no,
Speaker 1: absolutely not, but it's how it still happens, you know,
Speaker 1: I you know, I know, for we've spirits are so
Speaker 1: that ourselves, with that my organization, we've you know, trying
Speaker 1: to try to get some of that some assistance, and
Speaker 1: we've watched their clearance be stripped from them, which is
Speaker 1: just totally absurd. I mean when they are the ones
Speaker 1: who's reaching out saying, hey, I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1: I want to have to try something different. You know
Speaker 1: that alcohol is not helping. Um, I can't self medicate anymore.
Speaker 1: I do need the help um and we've we've seen
Speaker 1: security clearances and gun rights removed, and it's just wrong.
Speaker 1: It's wrong on every level. Uh. And we need to
Speaker 1: fight against that and stand against it, and we need
Speaker 1: to encourage our vets to come forward and we need
Speaker 1: to protect them though in the process. Absolutely, And so
Speaker 1: let's get back to CODEA Vets because this is amazing.
Speaker 1: I mean I was reading over some of the stuff
Speaker 1: on social media about your your organization. I mean, in
Speaker 1: the last two years, you've raised over two million dollars
Speaker 1: veterans and you know, the one question when you know
Speaker 1: and the world we live in today, everyone always asked, well,
Speaker 1: how much actually goes to the veterans? Well, already I
Speaker 1: literally want to screen that from the mountaintop. Cents on
Speaker 1: the dollar goes to the veterans, two cents goes to
Speaker 1: operating Cause I don't think that anyone can sit there
Speaker 1: and say, well, this is a five five oh one
Speaker 1: c three that uh, you know needs to be investigating.
Speaker 1: We've been audited and I have my full report out there.
Speaker 1: Because I'm so thinking proud of what I've created and
Speaker 1: built along with my partner and team, I have to
Speaker 1: have to give a shout out to Dr Cindy Walter.
Speaker 1: She has her PhD in public health. She is my partner.
Speaker 1: She has elevated could She's a professional veteran advocate, has
Speaker 1: been since two thousand four, and she's the one who's
Speaker 1: vets our veterans because that's always an issue, stolen valor.
Speaker 1: We have to make sure that the guys and gals
Speaker 1: that we are helping that they did serve and they
Speaker 1: served with honor. So she's got that responsibility and does
Speaker 1: a phenomenal job with it. She's been doing it for years.
Speaker 1: So anyway, she put together cases for the veterans that
Speaker 1: need more um intense help other than just financial assistance
Speaker 1: that if we need we we we've taken veterans off
Speaker 1: the streets, out of barns, out of cars, you name it.
Speaker 1: We do very small, you know things we do. We
Speaker 1: assist with shoes or groceries. But on the opposite end
Speaker 1: of the spectrum, you know, we assist homeless veterans or
Speaker 1: veterans who are in crisis and may need to get
Speaker 1: to a facility to get some inpatient treatment, whether it's
Speaker 1: for drugs, alcohol, or for their PTSC or a combination.
Speaker 1: So she the woman is phenomenal with what she does
Speaker 1: behind the scenes. And then I get out there on
Speaker 1: social media. I share the stories each an individual veterans
Speaker 1: and we and I raised the funds. Uh. And I've
Speaker 1: become very effective, very quickly because I'm transparent with how
Speaker 1: we operate. I put the PayPal receipts out once we
Speaker 1: send the veterans their funds, were raising funds in real time.
Speaker 1: I literally am raising funds for veterans one at a time,
Speaker 1: and as the money flows through, and it's been over
Speaker 1: two million dollars in two years, I've pushed that two
Speaker 1: million dollars back out directly to the veterans in need. There.
Speaker 1: You know, we have minimal wait time. Um, it's just
Speaker 1: been it's we again. We're just a very unique organization
Speaker 1: and it just it happened organically. But I found that
Speaker 1: there's a niche and there's a need for code vats
Speaker 1: in the veterans community, and we are we're just killing
Speaker 1: a save about the social media world, I've seen some
Speaker 1: of your Twitter posts, so yeah, I think you are
Speaker 1: and I think that's fantastic. Now, do you have any
Speaker 1: corporate sponsors or anyone given or is this all just
Speaker 1: small been Yeah, it's all been small donations across the country.
Speaker 1: We help veterans in every state of the nation because
Speaker 1: we're social media UM, and we pull in donation from
Speaker 1: actually around the world, but you know, mainly from the
Speaker 1: United States. But I have I do have to stay
Speaker 1: very very recently, as recent as last week and this week,
Speaker 1: we just got our first UM mega donor. We had
Speaker 1: a family who was very wealthy set up a foundation,
Speaker 1: a charitable account for CODA Vets in the amount of
Speaker 1: six hundred thousand dollars. Yes, that's a big wow. And
Speaker 1: that's not and that's just the start. UM. They have
Speaker 1: a lot of connections. Um Codavets will be seeing more
Speaker 1: bigger donors coming, you know through this family. I'm literally floored.
Speaker 1: But I'm telling you what, Steve, the need in our
Speaker 1: community is staggering right now, especially with u you know,
Speaker 1: the COVID shutdown and restrictions that throughout this year. So
Speaker 1: many of that families and I know Americans in general,
Speaker 1: I have just really been harmed by that shutdown. There
Speaker 1: there is a true fun financial crisis and I you know,
Speaker 1: specifically deal with a vetter family. So this the funds
Speaker 1: that I have raised on my own and the what
Speaker 1: what I first say here in the very short future coming,
Speaker 1: we're going to be able to help so many more
Speaker 1: of that families. And again I'm keeping that two percent
Speaker 1: operating costs because it is about veterans. And you know,
Speaker 1: the only reason I started this with the honor dad um,
Speaker 1: and I feel like this is a great way to
Speaker 1: do this is to grow as big as possible, help
Speaker 1: as many vets as possible. Uh, and just just let
Speaker 1: the veterans know that, Hey, your nation cares about you
Speaker 1: and the veteran community. You know, we're here for you,
Speaker 1: and whatever resources we have, it's for you. That's great.
Speaker 1: And that was you kind of segued into my next question,
Speaker 1: which was, you know, with the COVID going on and
Speaker 1: everyone is hurting right now because so many businesses are
Speaker 1: either shut down or severely curtailed. I didn't know if
Speaker 1: it was hurting your you know, ability to raise donations
Speaker 1: for for your organization. Uh. It hasn't, It has not.
Speaker 1: I I was very concerned about that myself. In each month,
Speaker 1: I keep thinking, Um, this may be the months that
Speaker 1: we get hit. You know that, you know, the donations
Speaker 1: are drastically decreased. But last month we had one of
Speaker 1: our record months. It was two hundred thousand dollars I
Speaker 1: raised and I have like five hundred dollars in our
Speaker 1: PayPal account. That's so that goes to tell you that
Speaker 1: literally all that money is going to write back out
Speaker 1: for the veterans. So I'm starting all over here in November.
Speaker 1: But I you know, and plus I got this new
Speaker 1: Gloomy friends that will have access to soon from this foundation.
Speaker 1: But anyway, I'm just floored people have really come through
Speaker 1: for the veterans. But also they trust CRAT of that
Speaker 1: because they know they get to see the veterans face
Speaker 1: because we post a picture their first name, because we
Speaker 1: try to give a you know, a little bit of privacy.
Speaker 1: UM and what the need is. And right now we've
Speaker 1: really been focusing on UM you pass utilities, UH utilities,
Speaker 1: disconnect disconnect notices we do have we or we've had
Speaker 1: to veterans who've been sitting without running water or electricity
Speaker 1: that they've been shut off. We've got eviction notices, for
Speaker 1: closure notices, Auto repose, the food inconsistencies, and this is
Speaker 1: across the country UM. And we have been pushing out
Speaker 1: as much of the funds as quickly as possible. I
Speaker 1: tried to get through as many of these vets as
Speaker 1: we we have, and we have a long line. They
Speaker 1: are they've been incredibly harmed financially, um by this COVID shutdown.
Speaker 1: So and we've got veterans who have used all of
Speaker 1: their savings. We've eve been assisted some officers. Um, it's
Speaker 1: it's yeah. It's just been absolutely mind blowing the need
Speaker 1: out there. It's staggering. And I don't care how much
Speaker 1: funding anyone, including quotas, any organization out there, it is
Speaker 1: not enough to cover the historic need that we are
Speaker 1: experiencing right now. Mhm. That's it gives me hope though
Speaker 1: we are as a as a country, we're still on
Speaker 1: the right path. When I hear that, because you know, um,
Speaker 1: even amongst everyone kind of suffering right now, the fact
Speaker 1: that people are still out there donating to causes like
Speaker 1: your own, that gives me hope that were we still
Speaker 1: have hope for us as a people, because there's been
Speaker 1: some times in the last couple of years I've I've
Speaker 1: actually had some doubts about that. So that that's it
Speaker 1: is it is, and I you know, I've been the
Speaker 1: same way I'm like a roller. I lead with my heart,
Speaker 1: I lead with my emotion. I think it's part of
Speaker 1: the reasons that codivets has been successful. You know, I
Speaker 1: am who I am, and I'm just out there. I
Speaker 1: literally have such a heart for the veterans, and you know,
Speaker 1: I missed my dad and I just I don't want
Speaker 1: any other family to go through what we did, which
Speaker 1: which it happens every day unfortunately. But I am out
Speaker 1: there pushing as hard as I can to raise as
Speaker 1: many many funds as I can to cover. I'd love
Speaker 1: to cover all the vests out there struggling or you
Speaker 1: know that are behind the bills due to something that's
Speaker 1: beyond their control. And we're not talking out men and
Speaker 1: women who are inconsistent with employment that we generally pre COVID.
Speaker 1: We're dealing with homeless and you know, people who struggled
Speaker 1: with some drugs and alcohol issues, you know, as any
Speaker 1: of the or would. But right now we're dealing with
Speaker 1: like good, solid men and women with solid work history
Speaker 1: and they are just devastated that they can't work and
Speaker 1: provide for their family, or they were out of a
Speaker 1: job for four or five or six months, or they
Speaker 1: were looking for a job that was somewhat comparable to
Speaker 1: the one they lost, and they've gone through all their savings,
Speaker 1: they've they've let their cargo, we've we've got some veterans
Speaker 1: that have no transportation walking to work. It's just I
Speaker 1: have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. But
Speaker 1: I'm also uh, like you. It gives me hope to
Speaker 1: see that when I post these stories out there, and
Speaker 1: it touches the American people's hearts, the donors hearts that
Speaker 1: still have their jobs, that are fortunate to have their paycheck,
Speaker 1: or you know, some of third owners who are wealthier,
Speaker 1: they're like Gretchen, I'm in you know, I want to help.
Speaker 1: I want to do my part. And that's and it's
Speaker 1: been beautiful and it's been very uplifting for me and
Speaker 1: for my team to see that that they're still good
Speaker 1: in our country. There's a lot of good in our country,
Speaker 1: and we do care about each other, and I think
Speaker 1: we are. You know, we're in a dark time right now,
Speaker 1: but we're going to get past it. We're going to
Speaker 1: get through it together. And you know, I think that's
Speaker 1: where again, there's so much negativity on social media these days.
Speaker 1: When people see your posts. Everything is so positive with
Speaker 1: those I was going through all your Twitter timelines today
Speaker 1: and it's so positive and it's rare to see that today,
Speaker 1: and I think that strikes a chord with people. I
Speaker 1: think that's probably why you have so many followers on
Speaker 1: Twitter now. Yeah, I I do. I want to be
Speaker 1: I want to shine, you know, my American spirit, American light,
Speaker 1: God's light. I am a Christian, you know, I have hope.
Speaker 1: I feel like we have, you know, our especially our
Speaker 1: veteran community, the military community. We've sacrificed our blood, lives
Speaker 1: and tears, uh to secure our freedoms. And I want
Speaker 1: to get out there as a veteran, as an American
Speaker 1: and show you know what what it truly is like
Speaker 1: to to to be an American and to have that
Speaker 1: love for our nation. Uh. And I do that every day,
Speaker 1: and I do it for the veterans. Um. The veterans
Speaker 1: have my heart. Um. But my you know, but but
Speaker 1: my soul you know is red, white and blue to
Speaker 1: the core. Oh my god, my dad passed it onto me.
Speaker 1: He was hardcore. Um, you know, American love, old glory
Speaker 1: and everything she said for And as you know, I
Speaker 1: had to share this real quick as a kid, I
Speaker 1: always watched my dad. My dad had so many problems,
Speaker 1: but whenever he was around the flag or he took
Speaker 1: the flag down and was folding it, he did it
Speaker 1: with such reverence and there was just this look of
Speaker 1: awe um in his eyes. And you know when he
Speaker 1: got off the plane, he had some brothers underneath that flag.
Speaker 1: And Dad always took old glory so seriously, and he
Speaker 1: passed that passion onto me and I that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's I'll never be able to repay Dad for what
Speaker 1: he's given to me as a as a a you know,
Speaker 1: as a child and as an adult. As he passed
Speaker 1: on the love of country in their reverence for our
Speaker 1: flag and everything it stands for. And now that you
Speaker 1: know he's gone and I and I understand better, you
Speaker 1: know what he went through. Because the more veterans I
Speaker 1: talked to and help it actually brings me peace about
Speaker 1: my dad, be called. It helps me to understand that better.
Speaker 1: And I just feel like that, you know, I can
Speaker 1: be a small part, could have can be a small
Speaker 1: part of being something good in our country right now
Speaker 1: when we're going through such a tough and unsettled time.
Speaker 1: That's very true. When we've talked about unsettled right now,
Speaker 1: it's a nightmare. We can we can have a whole
Speaker 1: different podcast on that. Oh my god, yeah we could.
Speaker 1: We could probably talk for him in a month and
Speaker 1: a half on that. But I wanted to ask you,
Speaker 1: I mean, for the amount of money that's coming in
Speaker 1: and the help that's going out, how big is staff
Speaker 1: do you have? Oh my gosh, you're gonna laugh. So
Speaker 1: so really, realistically, it's Cindy and I who run code Vetts.
Speaker 1: She does the vetting and puts together case work for
Speaker 1: the vets who actually need, you know, a little bit
Speaker 1: more assistance than just funding. I do all the fundraising,
Speaker 1: I do the five O and C three part, do
Speaker 1: the business end of it, and do the social media,
Speaker 1: the media. So we do have a team. She she
Speaker 1: has three or four other people that work underneath her,
Speaker 1: and she will farm veterans out to them for simple
Speaker 1: needs um that they can handle, but the more could
Speaker 1: like if if it's a homeless case or something complex,
Speaker 1: then you know, Cindy is the one who's in charge
Speaker 1: of it. So we we Honestly, Cindy and I worked
Speaker 1: seven We worked seven days a week. Neither one of
Speaker 1: us get paid. We work on our birthdays, We work
Speaker 1: on Christmas, Thanksgiving Day, I'll be working. But we do
Speaker 1: it because it's a passion and we both are driven
Speaker 1: for you know, she has her to, her son's a marine,
Speaker 1: her husband was a Vietnam era vet. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: a veter of myself, so I have my you know,
Speaker 1: my dad is my reason. So we both have our
Speaker 1: own different reasons. But I feel like we crossed paths
Speaker 1: for a reason. Um. God put her um in the
Speaker 1: path of codavettes. She was following codavetts and you know,
Speaker 1: messaged me and we started talking on the phone. And
Speaker 1: we just haven't become the Spearce team. Um. Two women
Speaker 1: just just with this heart for veterans, UM. And it's
Speaker 1: the way we have it set up. And because we
Speaker 1: don't have rick and mortar, and we both run it
Speaker 1: from our homes, that's where we're able to accomplish what
Speaker 1: we do. And we have this system in place where
Speaker 1: after we got the veterans and I raised the fund,
Speaker 1: we actually could probably quadruple the veterans that we're assisting now. Um.
Speaker 1: Just that's how smooth it runs. Uh. And it's it's
Speaker 1: just we need more something see, you know, but anybody's
Speaker 1: out there and listen me, you know. And you want
Speaker 1: your money to go to veterans. Um, if you give
Speaker 1: it to cadivets, uhcent of it will go to a vettery.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. Uh. You know. One of the things I
Speaker 1: saw on your website was you've caught the attention of
Speaker 1: some celebrities and public figures. And I'll mention a few
Speaker 1: of them because they were listed on your website. Sean Hannity,
Speaker 1: Bill O'Reilly, Sydney Powell, Larry the Cable Guy, the Oakridge Boys,
Speaker 1: Scott bio Herschel Walker, Charlie Daniels. Um. I saw a
Speaker 1: picture of you on on on your bio page with
Speaker 1: Charlie Daniels, and I gotta ask you because I was
Speaker 1: a big Charlie Daniels fan. What was Charlie like? The
Speaker 1: salt of the earth, one of the one of the
Speaker 1: best men I've ever met in my life, a giant
Speaker 1: walking amongst us when he was living. He passed away
Speaker 1: in July, and we we officially, we formally partnered and
Speaker 1: did some interviews together um this year earlier in the
Speaker 1: year before he passed away. And I do have to
Speaker 1: give credit to Charlie Daniels and the Journey Own Project,
Speaker 1: which is that's his veteran organization that they elevated CODA
Speaker 1: that this year when we formally partnered on April seventeenth,
Speaker 1: we exploded with with donations. And that's because Charlie went
Speaker 1: onto Fox News and he did, you know, quite a
Speaker 1: few interviews himself, and then we did them together. Uh,
Speaker 1: and he got us out there. Uh, he got us
Speaker 1: recognized and people started noticing that, Hey, you know, they've
Speaker 1: got a two percent operating costs. That's pretty darn good,
Speaker 1: you know. Uh. And I will forever be grateful to Charlie.
Speaker 1: I'm going to continue speaking his name and assisting with
Speaker 1: his legacy in the in the veteran community, in the
Speaker 1: veteran world. He was He had such a heart for
Speaker 1: the military. Um always had and um uh he was amazing.
Speaker 1: He was a true hero for veterans because he genuinely
Speaker 1: loved all of us and just he was so grateful
Speaker 1: for anyone who had served. And he was so gracious
Speaker 1: to code VET, you know, by pushing donations their way
Speaker 1: and just and really um talking about you know, how
Speaker 1: we were helping veterans in real time, um, using social media,
Speaker 1: which was very It was very different for him from him.
Speaker 1: For him, he had never seen anything like it, and
Speaker 1: that's why he wanted to jump on board and UM
Speaker 1: give me his name so that I, you know, to
Speaker 1: help me grow and he did. Uh, And so I
Speaker 1: will always be indebted to him, and I will always
Speaker 1: be a huge fan of Charlie Daniels. He was a
Speaker 1: good man. I'm glad to hear that, because sometimes you
Speaker 1: meet celebrities and they don't kind of match up to
Speaker 1: what you had in mind. And it's he was. He was.
Speaker 1: He was so much more. He he just he was.
Speaker 1: He was a beautiful soul. Um. And you know, he
Speaker 1: loved God and he loved the military, and that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's what he would say. And I just you know,
Speaker 1: it was so easy to love Charlie Daniels. I grew up,
Speaker 1: you know, in the Mountain, North Carolina. I O'm my gosh,
Speaker 1: you know, he was a legend all over the world
Speaker 1: and country. But and you know he I grew up
Speaker 1: on his music, Uh, and it just went for me.
Speaker 1: I was just blown away when I met. Yeah, he
Speaker 1: was he was very gracious, he was very good man. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that well, when I was looking at those names, you know, um,
Speaker 1: one that jumped off, of course was Charlie Danns. But
Speaker 1: obviously Larry the cable guy, who I'm a big fan
Speaker 1: of as well. Yeah. Yeah, he had me on his
Speaker 1: radio show to promote my mission and he's and he
Speaker 1: sent me some stuff too. Uh So he's a great guy.
Speaker 1: He has donated. He actually covered a couple of veterans
Speaker 1: because he's out in Nebraska. So whenever I do, you know,
Speaker 1: if I post, if he sees it, you know, he
Speaker 1: sees a Nebraska veteran that I post, he'll send me
Speaker 1: the funds for it. So he's been great for and
Speaker 1: um Coda Vets. You know, we're elevating us too there.
Speaker 1: So I had two phone calls with herschel Walker. My
Speaker 1: husband was so jealous. Yeah, so he you know, he
Speaker 1: gave his name, you know, lend his name to Coda
Speaker 1: Vets to last year did something together and U it
Speaker 1: was amazing. I'm just I've been so blessed. I literally
Speaker 1: I am a nobody in Middle Tennessee. I'm just an
Speaker 1: airmand e four. But I've you know, I opened my heart,
Speaker 1: my mouth, you know, for the veteran community, and uh,
Speaker 1: it's just there's so much need out there, and the
Speaker 1: Veterans Calls is so worthy and sacred. Without our men
Speaker 1: and women in uniform, we would not have this this country.
Speaker 1: And it's such an honor to be able to walk
Speaker 1: amongst them every day and to be a part of
Speaker 1: this community. I'm just so proud of it. Steve, I wish,
Speaker 1: I wish I could do more. If I could raise
Speaker 1: two hundred million dollars and and give nine percent of
Speaker 1: it back I and I would not take a paycheck.
Speaker 1: I just for me. Um, this this is just my heart.
Speaker 1: I just feel like God has called me to do this.
Speaker 1: And it's just I've never had so much joy aside
Speaker 1: from you know, when my children were born, I've never
Speaker 1: been so fulfilled or had so much joy as to
Speaker 1: give back to the veteran community, to to give them
Speaker 1: a little bit of hope and motivation, and you know,
Speaker 1: just to say hey, keep going, we've got you, we've
Speaker 1: got your back. Well, I have to disagree with you
Speaker 1: on one thing. You're not a nobody from Middle Tennessee. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, people who do what you do aren't nobody's
Speaker 1: And you know, we're thankful that there's people like you
Speaker 1: out there, uh, taking care of veterans, and for myself,
Speaker 1: who you know, a veteran myself. I thank you very
Speaker 1: very much for that. I think that's fantastic everything you're doing.
Speaker 1: It's just amazing that all of this is basically being
Speaker 1: done by two women. Uh, not just because you're women,
Speaker 1: just two people, you know what I mean. I find
Speaker 1: that absolutely amazing. And you know, Uh, there's a place
Speaker 1: in heaven for people like you. Well, thank you, Steve,
Speaker 1: you know, And I don't know, I just love doing it.
Speaker 1: It's for me. It's an honor. It is is such
Speaker 1: an honor to be able to um be a small
Speaker 1: part of the veteran community and to be an activist
Speaker 1: for them and to be a voice and there. And
Speaker 1: thank you for doing what you do. You know, because
Speaker 1: what your podcast is a voice. We all need to
Speaker 1: be out there doing our part because the need is great,
Speaker 1: it's real. Uh And I don't think there's a worthier
Speaker 1: cause than than the veterans. Well, I can't agree with
Speaker 1: you more on that one. Please tell all our listeners
Speaker 1: how they can donate and where to check out your
Speaker 1: website and all the stuff that you do, especially on Twitter.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, codavet dot com is our website. So veterans,
Speaker 1: if you are out there in need, or if you
Speaker 1: have a family member who is a veteran that's struggling
Speaker 1: due to the COVID restrictions and shut down, just let
Speaker 1: us know feel out of that need form. We will
Speaker 1: get you in mind and we will get to you.
Speaker 1: Our line is long, but we actually get through it
Speaker 1: fairly quickly. Uh and follow us on Twitter codea vets
Speaker 1: at code of vat um. If you do not have
Speaker 1: a Twitter account, I'm telling you you would. You would
Speaker 1: enjoy creating account just to follow the work that we do,
Speaker 1: because I have to tell you it's pretty darn phenomenal.
Speaker 1: We and I couldn't do it without the followers. Like
Speaker 1: we're all a team. I've got over three thousand followers
Speaker 1: and there's there are the digital soldiers out there pishing
Speaker 1: each individual mission out there every day and we get
Speaker 1: it done and it's a beautiful thing to see and
Speaker 1: to be a part of. Oh. We want to thank
Speaker 1: you very much for all the work that you do,
Speaker 1: and especially today for you know, coming up to bat
Speaker 1: for us such short notice. We greatly appreciate that we
Speaker 1: appreciate all the work that you're doing for CODA Vets
Speaker 1: and uh, we want to thank you for joining us
Speaker 1: this afternoon. I encourage all our listeners out there and
Speaker 1: the readers of soft rep if you know, if veterans
Speaker 1: are near and dear to you hard, which we know
Speaker 1: that they are because you wouldn't be reading and listening
Speaker 1: to soft up dot com about that, please donate. This
Speaker 1: is a very worthy cause and as Gretchen just told you,
Speaker 1: all you know, sence on the dollar is going to
Speaker 1: the veterans, which is where it belongs. And that, my friends,
Speaker 1: is the way it's supposed to be. So for myself,
Speaker 1: Steve Blastrari, Cretchen Sman, thank you for joining us. We
Speaker 1: want to thank everyone for listening this afternoon. It's been
Speaker 1: a lot of fun and uh keep that uh dial
Speaker 1: tune folks will be back with another podcast real soon
Speaker 1: Software Radio on time on target and we'll be back soon.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, love them, listening to self