 It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2022 DAV Midwinter Conference of the State Commander and Agents Association. I am so glad to be back together with all of you this year. Our work here at the Midwinter Conference is oftentimes the most significant meeting we have throughout the year, as it brings us face-to-face or in some cases this year screen-to-screen with our elected officials. We have continued to see mounting division between political leaders, even when it comes to veterans issues that used to be held above the fray. I remain hopeful that our elected officials will address the ills of our country and bring us closer together. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. But your presence here is a testament to the devotion you have for protecting veterans benefits and access to care. As veterans, we have already been asked to make sacrifices on behalf of this nation. Too often, those who have not served will look and take from one group of veterans in order to fund programs and services for another. You being here this week is a powerful message to Congress that says, we are watching, we are engaged, we are united, and we demand a better solution. There is no other population that has given so much, so often, and at such a cost. We must hold the President and Congress accountable to do what is right by veterans and their families. We all have our own personal reasons for being here. Some of us have lost limbs, suffered the devastation impact of combat or military sexual trauma, become ill due to a toxic exposure, or sustained life-changing injuries in service. Our voices and our experiences matter, and instead of being defeated by the challenges we face, we are fueled by them. We have turned our experiences into a passion to care for our brothers and sisters, and we must work in concert to ensure that Congress hears our voices and is aware of the needs of our disabled veterans and their families and their survivors. Remember, we aren't just speaking for ourselves. We are the voice for so many others who can't be here, who are unable to speak for themselves. This conference gives us the tools we need to work with our lawmakers to help them fully understand those needs. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to visit with your delegation this week. A few of the issues we need to remember as we head up the Capitol this week are veterans' mental health and suicide prevention, the need to reform the process for creating presumptive diseases related to burn pit and other toxic exposures, and increasing VA's ability to deliver timely and high-quality care. Our program today includes a presentation by VA Secretary Dennis McDonough. We'll also hear from our DAV National Commander, DAV National Adjutant, and DAV Auxiliary Leadership. Following this meeting, there will be seminars covering DAV programs and the issues confronting veterans. We urge you to take advantage of these seminars and to take this information home with you and share with your members, veterans, and communities. Now if there is no objection, we will depart from normal order of business in order to hear presentations of our special guests. It is my privilege to introduce DAV National Commander Andy Marshall, who was elected to lead our more than one million member organization at the 2021 DAV National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Commander Marshall was an airborne infantryman serving with the American Division in the Quezon Valley in December 1970, when he was first injured. After subsequent recovery, he was transferred to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In 1971, he stepped on an IED and sustained extensive damage to his left leg and foot requiring 15 months of recovery at Walter Reed. For his service, Commander Marshall received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and Louis II Award, and Army Commodation Medal with V-Device. In 1975, he began what would be a 41-year career with DAV as a National Service Officer, holding numerous supervisory and leadership roles throughout. He also went on to become one of DAV's first national area supervisors and served at DAV's Judicial Appeals Office in Washington, D.C. Commander Marshall has helped multiple department-level officers, including Time as Commander for the Department of Florida, and he has also served for three years on the Florida Veterans Advisory Committee. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm welcome to National Commander Andy Marshall. Thank you, Brian. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for that warm reception, and thank you all for gathering for one of DAV's strongest demonstrations and strength in the realm of veterans' advocacy, our National Midwinter Conference and Commanders and Agents Association meeting. For so many of us, it's been a rough go these past couple years, which is what makes it so great to finally be here with all you in person today. While the pandemic has presented our nation and our organization with numerous challenges, it is because of your hard work, dedication, and commitment to our mission that DAV remains the undisputed leader of veterans' service organizations. When I first took to range as National Commander in Tampa last August, I spoke about DAV's mission of service and the importance of using our collective voice of more than one million members to advocate for America's veterans and their families. Well folks, right now, this week, across the river and our nation's capital, there's no better time or place. America's veterans, their families, and their survivors deserve nothing less than our absolute best efforts in pushing Congress to do the right thing by those who've sacrificed. Luckily for them, DAV is the nation's premier veterans service organization, and that's because of you. The people in this room who have come to advocate on their behalf. Your President here helps put a face on veterans' issues and shows lawmakers that their actions affect real people, real veterans, and their families each and every day. Federal Legislative Director Joy Elam and her team will go over DAV's legislative priorities and critical policy goals in greater detail during the benefits, protection, and leadership or legislative workshop later today. If you are able, I highly recommend you attend to get an overview of the current veterans' landscape here in Washington and the path forward. For now, though, I'd like to take a moment to talk about what I see as a most pressing issue in our community. Those who have served the war know it never leaves us. As a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran, I know all too well the range of emotions that veterans of Afghanistan have felt in the past several months and how those emotions could negatively affect their sense of well-being. The anger, hurt, and sadness they're experiencing can be overwhelming. Pair those emotions with the challenges brought on by the pandemic and it creates alarming potential for mental health crisis. Every time I learn of a veteran dying by suicide, it hurts my heart knowing that someone's demons got the better of them. It feels like a thousand-meter sniper shot from our enemies. That's why I want every veteran to know you matter. Your service matters. Your sacrifice matters. As an organization of veterans serving veterans for more than 100 years, we also know that we are some of the best resources available to our fellow veterans. Our shared connections are invaluable and it's up to all of us to reach out to help each other with our emotions. You never know whom you may save or what family you may save from heartbreak. Being care of each other is what we do. It's in our blood and it's why I'm so incredibly honored and proud to lead this organization filled with their nation's finest service and advocates. Whether speaking up for veterans, women veterans, caregivers, those who have been negatively affected by toxic exposures or any other veteran in need, your commitment to ensuring veterans and their families receive the benefits they've earned is invaluable. That's why when you visit the congressional offices of your elected officials later this week or meet virtually, I want you to make one thing clear. Safeguarding and strengthening our VA is our number one priority as veterans. I cannot thank you enough for the support you've always shown when our nation's veterans need you. Midwinter would simply not be what it is without all of you in this room and we could not be as strong as an organization without your leadership and enthusiasm. No doubt we are facing a busy and challenging year as always, but I have seen the tremendous strides you have put forth in past years. You are all doing critical work. There is something unique about our community that should remind us all of the importance and value of our mission. The most inspiring thing to me about DEV members is a passion I see throughout our ranks every day. Standing up for our veterans, family members and survivors is a particularly meaningful commitment for those of us who have benefited from DEV services and those who have benefited from the joy that comes from giving a brother or sister hope. By making the most of your time here, you honor the service and sacrifices made by veterans and their families past and present. With that in mind, I want you to note that this year will be a little different in terms of our physical presence. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have our members present on Tuesday for the joint hearing. However, I invite you to return right here to this room at 9.30 Tuesday morning to watch the hearing live on the big screen. You will not only have a chance to see the DEV testimony, but we also have a video feed from the room to the hearing. That means your elected officials will also have a chance to see you gathered here together. It is important we show them DEV is here in full force. I hope you will be here to ensure Congress knows we are all united as one behind these goals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do. May God bless you, may God bless America, and may we all together make the most of this incredibly important week. Thank you, Commander. It is my pleasure now to introduce you to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable Dennis McDonough. Secretary McDonough was nominated in February 2021 by President Biden to lead the department. He was quickly confirmed and sworn in as the 11th Secretary of Veterans Affairs, pledging to work tirelessly to build and restore VA's trust as the premier agency for America's veterans. Before being named a secretary, he spent an eight-year tenure at the White House, helping lead the Obama administration's work on behalf of military and veterans' families. He served as the 26th White House chief of staff between 2013 and 2017, and as the principal deputy national security advisor from 2010 to 2013. Before that, he served as chief of staff of the national security staff and as the deputy national security advisor for strategic communications. Secretary McDonough, as a native of Minnesota and a graduate of both St. John's and Georgetown universities, has also served in positions in the U.S. House and Senate, and taught at Kehoe School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Everyone, please join me in welcoming, at this time, Secretary McDonough. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Good morning. Thank you very much for the nice warm introduction. It's just whispering to Randy a little long that bio, so I'll work on that. Andy, thanks so much for that warm, opening introduction of your efforts here as a team. Brian, yours as well. Andy, thanks for your service and for your steadfast leadership part. My pleasure, Mr. Secretary. Our time in these assignments has coincided, and I appreciate the friendship that you and I have developed. It's great to see many of you in person again. I want to recognize Mark, Lynn, Brian, Joy, Minnesota's own Joy Ilem, Randy Reese. I could obviously go on and on thrilled that Rob Reynolds is here. You are the glue that makes this great organization run, and that brings our shared mission to life. So thank you for everything. And of course, thanks to each of you for having me here for your guidance and your friendship over the past year, the occasional butt chewing. And yes, I'm looking at you, Randy. And most of all, as both Brian and Andy just said, your partnership in serving veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Today I want to focus on that partnership because we at VA have no more important partner than you. I never need reminding of that fact. I see it every day. But as I was preparing for this speech, looking through your website, one video caught my eye and reminded me of it. It's a story of a veteran named Joseph Lightwise. After getting out of the Army in the late 60s, Joseph struggled with post-traumatic stress and eventually found himself in a situation no veteran should ever be in. He was homeless. When asked about being homeless, Joseph described it as devastating. Saying that it sucked the life right out of his spirit. Saying that every time he got a little energy to get out of homelessness, he got pulled right back in again. And that went on for years and years. Specifically for Joseph, it went on for 48 years. That's 48 years of living in cars, staying in homeless shelters. 48 years of our country failing him. 48 years. Until Joseph got connected with DAV and everything changed. Because that's when you got Joseph the help he needed. You worked with VA to get him the retroactive benefits he had earned and deserved. And as a result, after 48 long years, we helped him get his first home in his adult life. You know, there's a moment at the end of the video where Joseph looks around his home proudly and says, all of this, all of this comes from VA and DAV helping me. I would not have any of this, he says, if it weren't for these fine people. For you, fine people. That's the type of impact DAV has on vets. The type of impact you've had for more than 100 years. And that's what our partnership is all about, working together to get the job done for veterans like Joseph. Whether that means providing them with the best care in the world, delivering benefits they've earned and so rightly deserve or guaranteed, guaranteeing a dignified, final resting place that's a lasting tribute to their service. There's no more noble mission than that. And it's our job to execute that mission together. And look, as Andy just said, it's a difficult time to execute that mission. Hell, it's a difficult time period. We've lost so many vets we serve, the colleagues we work with, and the family and friends we love, and we're still not even out of the woods after two long years of the pandemic. But the reality is that because times have been hard, this is the moment when vets, their families, their caregivers, and their survivors need us most. I know DAV has risen to that challenge, driving hundreds of thousands of vets to VA hospitals for free during the pandemic, and helping vets and their families file 150,000 new claims last year alone. And at VA with your help and guidance, we've risen to the challenge too. Let's look at what VA's great public servants did in January at the height of the Omicron variant. VA's workforce completed nearly 3 million in-person health care appointments, 827,000 telehealth appointments, and 543,000 community care authorizations, dramatically higher than the same month the year prior. VBA's workforce began a streak of completing more than 7,000 veteran benefit claims per day for 20 straight business days, the longest such streak by far in VA history. And NCA's workforce made sure there were no interruption of memorial services for vets, their families, survivors, despite nearly 200 NCA employees, that's 10% of the NCA workforce, being out at one time or another due to COVID. That's just the tip of the iceberg. All together with you as our partners, we're now providing more care, more services, and more benefits to more veterans than at any time in VA history. Make no mistake about it. We're not stopping there, far from it. We can and must do better. We must be better for the veterans we serve. So that's what I want to dive into deeply today, how we're doing on seven of our shared priorities, and how we can work together to do even better on those priorities and everything we do for vets, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Now for those of you who don't come to Washington much, those two sentences are a little warning that the next part of the speech is going to drag a little bit. Number one, let's start with the Air Commission. As you know, the Air Commission recommendations based on our market assessments are coming on March 14th. We're communicating with you before then to make sure that you're read in on any recommendations that will impact your communities before they're made public. Because you've been our partners on this from day one, and you'll be our partners on it every day until this process is finished. But I want you to know now that we came to those recommendations by asking ourselves one question above all else. What's best for the vets we serve? The result of asking ourselves that question over and over again in markets across the country is a set of recommendations that will cement VA as the primary world-class provider, integrator, and coordinator of veterans' health care for generations to come. That will build a health care network with the right facilities in the right places to provide the right care for veterans in every part of the country, making sure that our facilities are where veterans are. That will ensure that the infrastructure that makes up the Department of Veterans Affairs in the decades ahead reflects the needs of the 21st century vets, not the needs and challenges of a health care system that was built, in many cases, 80 years ago. And that will strengthen our role as the leading health care researchers in America and the leading health care trainers in America. Now there will be changes in markets across the country, but let me underscore that we are leaving no market. VA is here to stay. Between outpatient care, strategic collaborations, and referrals to the community, we will timely referrals to the community, we will continue to deliver timely access to world-class health care to every vet in every corner of the country. And in places where there are changes, we will be shifting toward new infrastructure or different infrastructure that accounts for how health care has changed, that matches the needs for a particular market that strengthens our research and training missions, and that most of all ensures that the veterans who live in that location will have access to world-class care they need when they need it. Because that's our number one goal today and every day. And that will be what our air commonsure recommendations are about. Let me just say one more thing on this. My wife, Carrie, and I went to the VA Medical Center in Chicago on Christmas morning at Heinz to deliver donuts to the folks working that morning. When I was walking down the hallway, I started to feel hot, really hot. Keep in mind this is at the height of the Omicron, so I began to worry, do I have a fever? Am I getting sick? Before I worked myself up into a lather, I asked the folks I was with if anyone else was feeling the same thing. Turns out everybody was feeling hot. Finally, the VA cop I was with who works in that facility every day chimed in with an explanation saying, oh, don't worry about that. When it gets cold in Chicago, the heat breaks down in the hospital. We have to worry about water pipes bursting. So we crank the heat way up in the hopes that if the pipes break, we have a little extra time. That's what we're dealing with right now when it comes to infrastructure, spending extra money to maintain out-of-date facilities rather than building new state-of-the-art facilities. That's what our vets are dealing with, that's what you're dealing with, that's what your members are dealing with when they come to those old facilities, and that's what our health care professionals are dealing with when they're busy providing care, saving lives, sweating in a facility in Chicago on a freezing cold Christmas morning. You know when that facility was built, I know, 1921, it was more than a hundred years ago. It's not good enough. Vets deserve better, and with these commission recommendations and your support, we're going to give them to them. Number two, veteran suicide. As Andy said, another issue where we can accomplish so much by continuing our work together. A couple things stand out to me from our most recent report on veteran suicide, which told us that more than 6,000 veterans died by suicide in 2019, the most recent year for which we have data itself, a tragedy that we have to wait two years to get data. First, that number is far, far too high. Too many heroes lost, too many families left without their loved ones. But second, that number reminds me that preventing veteran suicide is possible because it's 399 fewer vets lost than the year before. The biggest improvement in 20 years. So we're looking to build on that momentum together in several ways. We're moving forward aggressively on implementation of our 10-year national strategy for preventing veteran suicide. That was started before I got here, and it will continue after I leave. This is not a partisan issue. This is a clinical professional issue. We're growing our vet center presence in your communities, including via mobile vet centers and community access points to provide vets, family members, and service members with great, timely, and confidential mental health care. And for the first time ever, we'll be investing millions of dollars in suicide prevention work at your level in veterans communities via the staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox suicide prevention grant program. These grants will help organizations that are making a real difference for vets. Doing work like providing mental health screenings, emergency clinical services, peer support, and much more. This spring, we'll publish the regulations for applying for those grants. So please encourage organizations that you know in your communities that are doing a great job for vets to apply because nobody knows which organizations are truly helping vets and saving lives better than you do. Three, veteran homelessness. A phrase, by the way, that simply should not exist in our language. I've just returned from Los Angeles late Friday night, a place where we've stepped up our efforts. As I saw firsthand in the point in time count on Thursday night, there are more homeless vets in LA than there are anywhere in the country. Last October, we set two clear goals to address veteran homelessness in LA. Goal one, to get all of the roughly 40 homeless veterans living in an encampment called Veterans Row into housing by November 1st. Goal two, get 500 homeless LA vets into housing by the end of the year. Home for the holidays, I called it. With the help of partners like DAV, we not only met those goals, we exceeded them, housing every vet on vets row and moving more than 700 into housing. See, we know what's possible with your help individually and collectively as a group, we can take that momentum and channel it across the country. We've set more aggressive goals in LA and across the country. The top line is this. We'll place at least 38,000 homeless veterans nationwide into permanent housing by the end of this year, this calendar year, 38,000. We've shown that we can successfully attack this problem where it's it's worst in LA, so I know we can attack it everywhere. We can win and we can finally end veteran homelessness together for environmental exposure, toxic exposure. This is a life and death issue, as Andy said and as Brian said, for so many vets who've served our country, they've been waiting for exposure benefits and care that they deserve for far, far too long. They shouldn't have to wait any longer. This has been a top priority of mine from day one. Over the past year, we expedited the presumptive process by getting rid of the old onerous model and replacing it with a new pilot that takes all available science and veteran claims data into account. That puts veterans at the center of that process and that has one ultimate goal in mind, getting vets timely access to the benefits they've earned. We've already made progress here, including presumptives of service connection for asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis, making President Biden the first president to proactively address the particular exposure for the vets who've fought our wars and that huge geographic expanse from Somalia in the southwest to Uzbekistan in the northeast, Iraq and Afghanistan in the middle for the past 30 years. More importantly, ensuring that more than 12,000 of those vets are finally getting benefits they're owed. We're now in the process of assessing conditions like rare cancers, rare respiratory cancers, constrictive bronchiolitis and lung cancers. We'll have answers on at least some of those conditions in the coming days and a decision on constrictive bronchiolitis by the end of the spring. This is still just the beginning of our efforts and I promise you we will stop it, nothing to get vets the benefits and care they deserve as fast as we can. Five, access to care. As I said earlier, we delivered a tremendous amount of timely world-class care to vets in January, far more than last January and overall we're delivering more care to more vets than ever before. But the reality is that this is a big system in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and I fear, as I always do, that there may be some places across the country where vets aren't getting access to care as quickly as they should or as they need. We're constantly looking into this ourselves, constantly looking to improve on timeliness, but I also know that if there are access challenges, you're going to likely hear of them from your members. So what I ask of you is this, if you hear any challenges anywhere, please let me know. Because if there's an issue, I'm going to ensure that it gets fixed and get every vet the timely access to care they need and that they've earned. Six, caregivers. Whenever I think of, and speaking of butchering, Randy, whenever I think of the incredible work and importance of caregivers, I remember something that your former national commander, Dave Riley, said of his wife and caregiver, Yvonne, both of whom I think are here. Is that true? I thought I saw you over there. Dave said that people come up to him all the time and say, thank you for your service. And he appreciates that. Truly, he says. But he also noted nobody ever comes up to Yvonne and thanks her for her service that she's given to this country for taking care of him. Because caregivers not only provide great care to the vets they love, they also allow those vets to age and place and their homes, their communities where they want to be. And I know that at times through LVA's history, caregivers have been overlooked, not included, not appreciated for the backbreaking work they do, the credible service they provide. But I'm here to say to Yvonne, to Dave, and any caregiver watching, we're going to make sure that those days are over. Over. At VA and in this administration, we see you, we hear you, we thank you for your service, and we will continue to do everything in our power to support you. In fact, we're taking several steps right now to make sure that we keep that promise. Most importantly, Deputy Secretary Remy is listening to all stakeholders about the caregiver program, hearing observations and concerns, which I want to be clear are not about the excellent leadership and VA staff working the program, but about the structure and process of executing the program. In collaboration with you, our other stakeholders in our caregiver program leadership, we are in the midst of reviewing the program to ensure that we are expanding, not shrinking, expanding access to caregivers. We're also working to improve consistency and standardization of our programs so that every veteran and caregiver will get the same application decision and support no matter where they live. We're dramatically expanding access to home and community-based healthcare for eligible vets, and perhaps most important, we're orienting all these efforts around getting to yes, around airing on the side of the veteran and caregiver wherever possible, and being as inclusive in admissions as the regulations and the law allow us to be. Because supporting the caregivers who support our nation's vets is a top priority for us, and we'll stop at nothing to do exactly that. Seven. While you're in DC, I want to highlight two of VA's top legislative priorities, investing in our workforce and passing the 2022 budget. And yes, we're well into the year 2022. First, we need help from Congress to invest in VA employees and their wages. This is important not only because VA workers deserve it, but because it's also critical to the functioning of VA. Here's why. Due to laws that put a cap on how much we can pay VA employees, many of our best healthcare providers can literally walk across the street and make 10 or even 40 or even $200,000 more than they can make at VA. That's unsustainable. In this market, that is unsustainable. It's led to the highest nursing turnover rate at VA in 15 years, and it's going to mean more serious losses if we don't act soon. Now, my mom was a nurse. Mother of 11 worked the graveyard shift every night, came home, made our lunches, sent us out the door and went to bed for a couple hours anyway. I wish my mom had the leverage that our nurses have in this market. I begrudge no nurse, no doctor, the leverage that they get from this market, but I want us to be able to compete to keep them. So we're urging Congress to pass legislation like the RAISE Act that would better empower us to recruit and retain employees by paying them every penny they're worth. Second, we need Congress to pass the 2022 budget, not a year-long continuing resolution. If they pass a continuing resolution, VBA won't be able to hire claims processors to hire to process new age and orange claims. NCA won't be able to fully fund the workload at existing cemeteries. VHA will have a nearly billion-dollar shortfall in community care funding. All of that would negatively impact, directly impact, vets, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Look, at the end of the day, we can't do any of our great work together if the country doesn't fully fund VA or take care of the employees who make VA run. That's why we're laser focused on working with Congress to address these priorities and in doing so to continue providing vets the timely access to world-class care and world-class benefits they've earned. So those are seven of our shared priorities that are going to be critical for vets moving forward and I know as you do that those seven priorities only scratch the surface of all we need to do for vets because that's what this partnership is about fighting like hell together to serve vets their families caregivers and survivors every bit as well as you all have served the country and whether we're partnering on something that impacts many vets like the winter sports clinic or something that impacts one vet like helping Joe Joseph Lightwise get the benefits in the home he so rightly deserves. I know you're always there for us and I hope you know and I hope we live up to always being there for you because that's how together we will always be there together for the vets we serve. So from the bottom of my heart I thank you for your partnership and your friendship for your magnificent work for all we do together. It's the honor of a lifetime to be in this fight with you. God bless you, God bless our nation's troops, our veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors and may we always give them and each of you our very best. Thanks very much. Now I'd like to call to the podium an individual who has worked tirelessly for our national organization injured and ill veterans and their families. DAV national adjutant Mark Burgess our senior appointed leader is a Navy veteran of the Persian Gulf War who oversees the 650 member DAV staff and manages all of the organization operations but like so many within this organization he began his professional career with the DAV as a national service officer back in 1995 in Baltimore. Before his current appointment he served as executive director at DAV national headquarters in Cold Springs Kentucky. Guiding several departments including voluntary services, fundraising, accounting, administration, information technology, communication, logistics and plant operations. He became our national adjutant and CEO in 2013 bringing deep institutional knowledge and energized leadership to direct our organization's current and future path. Adjutant Burgess has guided this organization through the challenges of the past two years leveraging our organization's talents and resources to ensure DAV could continue to carry out the mission. He is a capable and insightful leader helping DAV progress and prosper and building a strong legacy for generations to come. Ladies and gentlemen please join me in a warm welcome for our national commander Mark Burgess. Thanks for that uh thanks for that promotion Brian I'm now the national commander everyone thank you Brian and I want to thank the secretary for being here with us today and of course his inspiring words of teamwork working together to care for our nation's ill and injured veterans. Hello and good morning everyone. It's great to see so many faces here at our 2022 DAV midwinter conference. While this is typically an annual event in the if the past few years have taught us anything is to be flexible in the face of uncertainty. This is of course the first time since 2020 that we've been able to gather together here outside of our nation's capital and I want to start us off by acknowledging what an important exercise of our collective strength this midwinter conference is. Thank you for coming out to take an active role in veterans advocacy and while the point of us being here today is to show our elected leaders our determination and our commitment since it's the first time we've had a chance to be together in a while I did want to mention an exciting development for DAV. Many of you have seen articles in our magazine that mention Patriot Boot Camp a non-profit that DAV has sponsored. It helps people in the veteran and military connected community with training and resources to empower them to become business founders and employers. Last month we acquired Patriot Boot Camp. It is now DAV Patriot Boot Camp. Acquisitions are fairly uncommon in the charity world but Patriot Boot Camp's founders and board are very entrepreneurial people as you can imagine. This was by no means a hostile takeover no cash exchanged hands. It was an instance where a truly fantastic program and very thoughtful leaders saw an opportunity to grow and expand in scope and efficiency. It's a case where a decision was made based on the best interests of the veterans military members and spouses that the two charities serve. As a result the vision of the Patriot Boot Camp will continue and evolve enjoying DAV's oversight and resources. It is complementary to DAV's employment efforts and growing focus on service disabled veterans on small businesses. It's another way DAV has found creative ways to grow and innovate in the face of a pandemic. It's a case where our resilience is showing through. But I must confess that we have some ulterior motives for this program. It's not for the fame of having a DAV Patriot Boot Camp alumni appear on Shark Tank. Though four have already done so and one of them came home with one and a half million dollars of Mark Cuban's money. Our goal is to not make a handful of veterans military members or spouses rich though that would be a desirable side effect. And it's not solely about creating new and fulfilling missions for some of our most deserving Americans. At the end of the day it's about strengthening our community and creating opportunities for all who share in the sacrifice of military service. Through its intensive signature three day boot camp events its mentoring program and recurring resources and educational opportunities Patriot Boot Camp has been transformative to those it has served. To date it's helped more than 1,000 members of our community. Alumni have raised 150 million dollars in venture capital and are employing more than 1,900 individuals. They and the experts who dedicate their time to the program form a network of support for one another. Past and future participants will know who DAV is and learn the many services that we offer. We'll help them get the benefits and health care they need while they are startups and then we'll bring them along as employers at our DAV job fairs where they'll do even more to contribute to the heroes that we serve. There are so many ways DAV touches lives of veterans and their families but the work you will do this week can go as far as anything we do to find justice for those forever changed in service. Our federal lawmakers just across the river have the sacred obligation to care for those who have worn our nation's uniform. No matter where the battlefield was the mountains of Afghanistan the deserts of Iraq or Syria the skies over Europe the islands of the Pacific or the jungles of Vietnam there is a place for all of us in DAV through advocacy. Some of what makes America stand apart for much of the world is the ability to walk into the office of our elected officials and have our voices heard. It is a hallowed pillar of our democracy and something every veteran has served to protect and our important advocacy isn't just for show and it isn't done in vain. Each year DAV advocates like yourselves descend on our nation's capital to discuss the issues most important to our community. While plenty of advocacy work is done through our expert legislative team here in Washington DC there just isn't any replacement for lawmakers meeting face to face with their constituents. They want to hear from you. Over the next few days I encourage you if possible to speak honestly and directly with your elected officials and their staffs. Your experience and that of your families is invaluable when influencing policies that will touch the lives of everyone in this room and the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters who aren't. To put it another way your presence puts an authentic face on often puzzling blueprints for veteran care. I can't think of any other group of people better equipped to advocate for the very healthcare system they regularly use the VA. One issue that's paramount to our community is the tragedy of veteran suicide caused to the VA crisis hotline increased by 40% last August off the heels of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and that's just one month. The stressors of the pandemic have compounded many of the troubles veterans face on a daily basis. COVID-19 has brought to the service what has been brewing underneath for so long. Veterans and their families have had to confront food insecurity, loss of income or the death of a loved one head on. Far too many of our fellow veterans have fallen on tragic and lonely times often stemming from complex physical and mental conditions. And while the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to a close the journey of post 9-11 veterans is in many ways just beginning. No one doubts the resolve of those who volunteered to serve throughout the past two decades but as we're continuing to find out post 9-11 veterans are one of the highest risk veteran populations for suicide. In fact according to the VA in just 13 years the suicide rate has doubled for the youngest post 9-11 veterans. While combat and the lingering elements of war undoubtedly play a role we know that seamlessly transitioning back to civilian life is easier said than done. The first few years after leaving military service leave these newest veterans vulnerable to some of the darkest times of their lives. While the VA has the responsibility to care for our nation's veterans something we can all do is check on our friends. Even an occasional phone call or buddy check has the potential to save a life. We at DAV get first-hand experience at protecting the benefits earned during military service but it's also our responsibility to not only increase those benefits but to also make them easier to access. As you engage in important meetings this week I want you to keep in mind DAV's critical policy goals and legislative priorities. While the VA began last year to roll out the first list of presumptive diseases related to burn pit exposure the work is just getting started. For those who suffered illnesses or injury due to toxic exposure time may be running out. Too few veterans have received the benefits they've earned and far too many are still waiting. DAV is also committed to strengthening benefits for veteran survivors advancing equity in health care and benefits for women and minority veterans and ensuring the VA delivers timely world class care to all veterans. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time out of your busy lives to advocate for those who defended our freedom and future generations of veterans. Thank you for your leadership and willingness to step up for your community. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all of our DAV auxiliary members who serve and advocate alongside their loved ones. And lastly thank you for making this trip to advocate for one another. You are all worth it as are the veterans we all serve. Thank you. Among DAV's strengths is working closely with our auxiliary. In fact DAV and the auxiliary together are unsurpassed in making a difference in America's disabled veterans and their families. Auxiliary national commander Lynn Helen Prosser is certainly an example of the energetic leadership that motivates the auxiliary to achieve and exceed its goals and objectives. Commander Prosser was elected as DAV auxiliary national commander at the 2021 national convention in Tampa Florida. She has been an active auxiliary life member since 1997. She is a surviving spouse of James E. Helms senior and Carol E. Prosser both Vietnam veterans. Her father John B. Clark senior also served in the military. She serves on the organization's education program and national finance committee. Prosser is a member of unit 30 in South Carolina and has served in all positions at her local unit including as commander and as adjutant. Commander Prosser has been a tremendous advocate for disabled veterans and their families, lending her voice to push for adequate VA funding, benefits for caregivers and survivors, as well as improvements for women veterans medical care. Residing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Commander Prosser retired from a 46-year cosmetology career and now has dedicated herself full-time to assisting veterans and their families. I present to you a proven leader and a person dedicated to serving our nation's disabled veterans and their families. DAV national commander, DAV auxiliaries national commander Lynn Helms Prosser. Good morning. It's my honor to stand before you today. I would like to say that other than last year I've never missed one of these meetings since 2006 and I've come to know many of you and I am so proud to see all of you here today and we know that we're still working to make sure that our veterans are heard here in Washington and to make sure that our caregivers and our survivors are also took care of and I want to tell you I appreciate that. I want to say congratulations here to our president. He is from South Carolina and I've watched him go up the line and he's done a great job here for y'all today. Even though Brian has tried to make us the national commander several times. So sorry about that. And I also want to say a little kudo to Burrell Jemerson. He's gone up the line. He's from Georgia and he is in my district also. Burrell, thank you for everything that you've done and I'll support you giving through the time. I'd also like to say that my national junior vice commander is here and Marie Hurley and I think my second junior vice commander here is here. Is it right? Am I saying it's right? Chris is here also. So thank you for coming and my first thing in order I would like to say that since we met before last time my national commander who has a place in my heart will always have a place in my heart. My national adjutant excuse me I'm giving my place away. Pat officially retired and I'm proud for her and I'm proud of her and to say that we will miss her. She's put her entire life actually into the auxiliary and like I said we'll miss her. But I would like to introduce Bunny Close. Bunny Close I have appointed her as my new national adjutant which I'll give her a hand. Bunny's been with us for a long time. Bunny's been with us actually for almost what 25 years Bunny and she was also born on a military base. Her dad was military and she also comes from a long military family. So welcoming her on board and I know that she's going to do an excellent job bringing us into the future of our new actual and new headquarters which is absolutely phenomenal. If you haven't been able to see it I hope you'll get there and also I know that she'll do a great job in leading us forward and building us stronger in our future and helping with all the commanders myself and the commanders to come. So thank you thank you Bunny for taking that position. Okay. I would like to say that I was humbled yesterday. As you heard my bio I've been there as an 18 year old putting my husband on a plane to Vietnam. Still 18 years old standing on the tarmac at Fort Bragg. When that plane came in bringing back burns severely and something that we faced for the rest of our life while he was still alive and he passed away at age of 56 not only with the burns that he received from a helicopter crash in Vietnam but also for age and orange exposure. So I've been I've been that that member of the auxiliary that has been the wife of a veteran. I've been the caregiver of a veteran and I've been a widow twice so I've been there and what's got me through is all of you. In 1997 after my children were grown I decided it was something for us to take more pride in as being members of the DAV and the DAVA. So my husband and I got really busy after that. So I've been very active since that time and I can tell you right now next to my children and my extended family also y'all are my family and I want to thank you for all the support that you've given me as I've come up through the chairs and been here and the love and and the understanding that y'all have of what I've been through and so therefore it makes me a stronger person to be able to stand here and say you are all heroes to me and I thank you for that. When I became commander I didn't get here by myself it was people like you and the auxiliary members that supported me and I know that I've got a lot of auxiliary members here but I'd also like for you to know that anybody that's sitting in this room right now are eligible to be members of the DAVA and I invite you to join by just going onto the DAV website and pulling down membership and joining with us because regardless of us and where we stand I want you to know that we don't want to walk behind you we don't want to walk in front of you we want to stand beside of you and I thank you for that and I thank you for being who you are and what you've been in my life and God bless all of you and God bless America and may during what our future holds for us after the past few days regardless of what happens with us in in the war that's happening right now I pray that God will keep us always America strong thank you