 to Sheboygan County government. Working for you, my name's Adam Paine, Sheboygan County Administrator and co-host of this program with Chairman Mike Van der Steen. And today we're very pleased to have one of our 22 department heads with us, Mr. Jim Riesenberg, who is the veteran service officer. Welcome, Jim. Glad to be here. Jim was just sharing before the program today that Sheboygan County has about 115,000 people in total. And if you just take the adult population, 14% of all the adults in Sheboygan County are veterans. And I found that rather remarkable. That's a significant percentage of the population here. It is, and that's a, according to the latest demographics, a fairly reasonable figure for just about every county in the state. It ranges anywhere from 13 to 15%. So from that standpoint, I guess we're an average county. Today, Jim's gonna talk a little bit about his roles and responsibilities as veteran service officer, the very important services that his office provides, and give us a flavor for his perspective on how the county, the state, and the U.S. as a whole is doing and serving veterans. Jim, please begin by telling our viewers a little bit about yourself, and when you start, when you start as veteran service officer. Well, I'm a 1960 graduate of St. James, Minnesota high school after the work ran out in the spring of 1961. I knew in September in my birthday the draft board would come after me, so I wanted to fly. So I killed two birds with one stone, I dodged the draft by joining the Navy because they told me if I passed my test and got a good score, I could have my choice of career field and aviation. And it worked, except that by the time it came for me to take my actual involvement in flying, they told me my hearing wasn't good enough to qualify me for either an air crewman or a pilot, so I said, well, that's fine, then I'll just finish my four years and we'll see you later. I spent about 20 years combined between television and radio. Moved here to Wisconsin in 1967. Some time in radio and for a while at the Gilson Brothers plant in Plymouth. And when my predecessor, Katie Holtz, who announced her retirement in December of 1986, some friends of mine who were with the American Legion, namely late, Norb Cooney, and Harry Chaplin said, why don't you get your butt in there and apply for the job? I think you'll have a chance to get it. So on January 21st, 1987, the county board elected me as their fifth county veteran service officer and that's where we're at today. Very good. So when you say elected, appointed, you're not an elected official. It was an election. It was just an election until one person got the majority vote. I think there were seven or eight ballots cast. Amongst the county board. Amongst the county board super-voters. Very good. What is the mission and primary responsibilities of the veteran service office? Our mission statement is relatively simple. We serve those who serve and we have several things that we've tried to do. We try to advocate for veterans as much as we can on the political scene. And basically I think to put it in as few words as possible, connect the veteran and the available benefits, the outreach and the public awareness to let the veterans know that there are programs out there for them and you don't need a Philadelphia lawyer to read your way through these programs. You just need to talk to the experts and here in Wisconsin the experts are supposed to be your county veteran service officer. So what we try to do through a myriad of different plans and plots and forms of attack, get to the veterans, get to the qualifying dependents, let them know there are programs there and in spite of what somebody may tell you, it's not tough to get into these programs. You just need to find somebody to help you do it. And you've obviously got tremendous experience in that regard and you have an assistant in your office. One of the smallest, if not the smallest department of the county, yet as we mentioned earlier, serving a pretty significant percentage of the population. It's overwhelming at times. I do feel fortunate that I've had a good staff, I've had dependable staff. Since I've been there, the fourth reception has started there. So I've been rather fortunate that way and I don't know whose takes credit for that but it certainly is appreciated but not only myself but our clients as well. The current global war on terrorism, seven years in Afghanistan, five years in Iraq. It's creating a generation of new veterans, more people frankly for you and your assistant to serve. What's been the effect on your workload? How have you managed this? Well, to step back and look a little bit, we're not, veterans aren't coming home in the millions like they did after World War II or the thousands like they did after Korea and after Vietnam. So they are coming in here and there one by one. I have been to two demobilization briefings that the Department of Defense in the state of Wisconsin has put on for these men and women. And they're doing a tremendous job. These men and women, they all assemble and they have like, I think 25 or 30 different stations that they have a car, the checklist that they have to go through and they're not permitted out of the building until they've gone through all of these checkpoints. And one of the checkpoints and the two that I have been at are County Veterans Service Officers. There's medical people there, there's education people there, there's state people there, there's county people there, there's retention people there, everything you can think of. They get a pretty good going over while they're still basically in uniform. So that makes our work a whole lot easier. We sit with them as veteran service officers and basically encourage them to go back, talk to their county veteran service officer if they have not already done so. When they come to our office, it pretty much we find out first of all what their basic needs are if everything is okay. And it's always nice if there's a significant other person in their life if they bring that person along because we talk about and we give them the spiel about the state benefits that are available, the federal benefits are available, any traumatic injuries or anything that may cause problems or hurt when you get to be this age and things like that. No, not really. And look at the separation document and it shows your combat infantryman. How's your hearing? It's okay. Turn to the other person. How's his hearing? It ain't worth a dang. Okay. Do we wanna file a claim for hearing loss for the federal government? Well, so those are the types of things. We talk about education using Montgomery GI Bill, using Wisconsin GI Bill and all the other programs that are available and what it takes to qualify for them. So as far as actual increase in the workload, the numbers haven't been significant. This war obviously has its signature injury which is the traumatic brain injury. So we do try to be extra careful to make sure that if we may have missed that, that we do make them aware that if there are problems down the road, come back and see us because there's help for it. So if there's a veteran who is watching this program and has never contacted your office or hasn't pursued any type of benefit one way or the other, what you mentioned education, you mentioned that if there's an injury, I don't expect you to remember them all but what are some of the types of benefits that they might wanna come in and talk to you about? Well, we generally find out if we need to make sure there were no physical or mental illnesses or I usually say any broken bones or strains or sprains or anything like that because if you had a sprained ankle the day before yesterday, when you get to be this age, it's gonna hurt. So we need to find out for sure, we ask them twice. And as far as the, that's the physical part of it, if there are any problems, let's address them now. You have one year from your last day of active duty to do that and have to pay retroactive to your last day of active duty. As far as the other benefits, education, a lot of them, if they're a regular army or a regular military, the Montgomery GI Bill funding, the Wisconsin GI Bill now which offers a tuition waiver. So we talk to them about those are the basics. If home buying is in their future, maybe the loan guarantees certificate, things like that. So we try to find out and then ask them if there's anything that they wanna know about it, if there's anything that we didn't cover. We can spend anywhere from an hour and a half to two or three hours depending on the particular situation. And what's the best way for a veteran to follow up and get more information? Well, there's a lot of ways. It's a dot com and a WW world that we live in, that's for sure, we all know that. So you can call the 800-827-1000 which is the toll free number down at the regional office in Milwaukee. And that's the number answers anywhere in the world. And I don't have the state number memorized so I'm gonna cheat a little bit here. 1-800-947-8387 is the number there. And there's also va.gov which is the federal website and dva.state.wi.us which is the state website. And if you can't get the information, most of those places will direct you to either the state office or a county office in whichever seems to be the most appropriate. The regional office setup is changing from what it used to be. All our telephone calls to the 800 number not in Milwaukee anymore. They're all answered in St. Louis. So if you tell them you're from Cheboyga, they might ask you, what's that? You won't get the response you were hoping for that came out of Milwaukee. I've often thought you have perhaps the most succinct but one of the best mission statements of any county department to serve those who served. What's the challenge of that? Or what are some of the challenges of working with your clientele? Well, there really, I would say we could put our basic challenges probably to the ones we can do something about once we can't. The ones we can't do something about basically are Washington says the most we're gonna pay you for this is $27. That's it, doesn't make any difference. So it's the law, right? You're a congressman, we can't do anything about it. And the biggest challenge, and I was talking to somebody about that earlier today, right now we have three families who cannot get a casket flag for the deceased veteran. They could not have military graveside rights. They're not gonna get a flag and a flag holder at the cemetery because there's no proof of military service. We have three, four others that are waiting for various types of benefits. And we can't do anything for them because we don't have proof of military service. If you got out after January 1st, 1950, it's a DD 214. It's your record of service. It says on top of it, it's this important document safeguarded. Well, guess what, a lot of you. That's been a challenge in the 20 years that I've been in this job. It's one of the first things I started harping on in 87, and that's one of the things I continue to harp on simply because, and it's not only these people, someone comes in and wants to apply for pension, the older veterans of World War II veterans and the Korean War veterans. Where's your proof of service? I don't know. Where are we living when you went in? Right here in Sheboygan. Never filed a claim for benefits. Never took the time to have it record at any place. So here we sit, and if we have to go to the big file center in St. Louis, that generally, if it's available, that's gonna take three weeks at a minimum to get that document. So for heaven's sakes, if you have one, and I try to tell these people and talk to the funeral directors, they're very responsive, we don't need one. If you're planning a funeral and you're gonna give one to the funeral director, that's fine. They're gonna call us for a casket flag when you pass away, so we'll have one. But if nobody has one, I don't care how many medals you have in your chest or how many pictures you have of you in the war zone without that document, we can't do anything. And that, to me, that is the biggest challenge, and it still isn't, probably always will be. Interesting, thank you, Jim. Jim, I know Memorial Day turned out to be a huge success here in Sheboygan. Number of different events, the parade happened in Sheboygan and was revitalized. I know you've had a part in many of these celebrations services in the past. Why is it important for these public events to recognize Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and Pearl Harbor Day? Well, Bill, there's several reasons for that. Veterans organizations, we have 26 here in the county, and part of their responsibility or their commitment to the community, as I like to refer to it, is to remember the service and sacrifice of men and women in uniform. But it also, you need to know and remind the public of a couple of things. Freedom isn't free. If you remember the video that we saw just before Memorial Day, you have the right to worship in the house of your choice. You have the right to have a voice in who governs your city, your county, your state, and your country. And the comparison I always like to use is that your money isn't measured in yen or marks or pranks. It's measured in American dollars. And that right or that privilege didn't just drift out of the sky like a bunch of snowflakes or raindrops. Freedom isn't free. Someone has to pay the price. Someone always does. And that's usually the men and women in uniform. So we need to remember their sacrifice, but we also need to be reminded that, excuse me, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, that these honored dead shall not have died in vain. It's a reminder of our responsibility to maintain the freedom that these men and women serviced and sacrificed for in years past. I agree. You indicated that there's like 26 veteran service organizations in Sheboygan County. What are some of the projects that these different groups are involved in? Well, aside from the patriotic observances, I think right here in the city of Sheboygan, I think American Legion Baseball is a very big project here in the city, has been for quite a few years. Many of the organizations provide scholarships in spring at awards day at the schools. You'll see a lot of the organizations up, presenting scholarships to students. There are other events, Veterans Day and Flag Day at the nursing homes and other institutions around the county, and things like that. There are Flag Day presentations, Flag etiquette presentations in the school, Veterans Day programs at school, in the schools. I think the Plymouth Legion's now starting a shooter, a air rifle shooting course. So they do a lot of things and a lot of things that probably the general public never sees or hears about. They go to the Veterans Homes at King and Union Grove. They go to the VA hospitals at different times of the year to cheer veterans, make a visit. Just veterans, you'd be surprised if you go, and I'm sure it's a similar situation in a non-veteran nursing facility, where there are men and women there with no close kin, no family members. Nobody comes to see them. They're only in contact with the outside world probably be the Legionnaires and the BFW guys that come in a couple of times a year to say hi to them and remember them for their service. That's great. Are there different membership requirements for a veteran to join these organizations? And if so, what are they? Yes, there are. Veterans organizations are blessed with a special tax exempt status by the Department of Revenue. But in order to maintain this, they need to ensure that if their charter says, you need to have this or you need to have this, that's what their membership needs to meet. For example, the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Membership is limited to those who have the Purple Heart. Veterans of foreign wars, your membership is limited to those who have a campaign medal that indicates that they served on a foreign soil during a designated conflict. Vietnam Veterans of America. You need to have honorable active military service during a specified time period that covered the war in Vietnam. They all do in exchange for the tax exempt status. They have the special membership requirement. I stress that, and I also stress the fact that you also need to ensure or at least guarantee to that host organization that you do indeed meet the qualifications of membership because failure is allying to the government and that's not a good thing. That's true. Jim, on occasion we hear about the draft being reinstated. You know, this was ended in the early 70s during the Vietnam era and I remember my draft number was 205 and I never got to that point for me to be called up. But from your point of view, do you think this was a good decision or do you think we should reinstate the draft? Well, this is interesting because I just, one of the new services that I subscribed to, it's been 35 years since the draft ended. So we've had an all volunteers force for 35 years and I think if you look at the reenlistment and the retention rate of our military service today, in spite of what's going on seven years in Afghanistan, five years in Iraq and the heads of the top brass and all of the veterans, the service organizations Army, Navy, Air Force, all say they have a excellent and outstanding staff in the survey of the men and women in uniform patriotism. It certainly wasn't meals ready to eat or sleeping in the sand was something you've never seen before calling all over you. So good and bad, I don't think it was a bad move but if I say it was a good move, I don't want to take anything away from us who were members of the draft segment of our military force either. So good from the standpoint that yes, it's doing, it's a credit to the men and women in uniform. Thanks for your thoughts on that, Adam. Freedom isn't free and you just also mentioned seven years in Afghanistan, five years in Iraq. In your experience, 20 years now as a veteran service officer, but just your experience in this area, what's your sense of the media attention and the public awareness? It seems to me that of course just like anything when it's new, of course there's all sorts of media attention, but I wonder how many of our viewers may have been just a little bit surprised to hear you say, my goodness, have we been in Afghanistan seven years already and have we really hit five years in Iraq? Well, it's, I'm not really sure. Every time you turn around a different media organization puts a different spin on it, but then when you talk, when you sit down and talk to the men and women who are coming back from there, the men and, once in a while it depends, some people will talk about it, some people won't. And it's kind of like talking to somebody who was at Pearl Harbor, who saw the movie Pearl Harbor or who saw Saving Private Ryan, who was at Normandy. If they saw Private Ryan, they'll say it's fairly realistic. If you talk about Pearl Harbor, they'll probably laugh at you because it's not even close, most of it. I really have mixed feelings about that. I don't want to say anything good or bad, but you do hear different stories. And we're talking to the men and women who come back if you kind of try and meld the two together a little bit, you do get kind of an idea. And there are some sources that do provide a more realistic picture than what our media provides for us. Do you think as a whole it was very encouraging? It was heartwarming this year to see Memorial Day get renewed, as Mike mentioned earlier in the participation we saw. And there was just kind of a call to arms almost with it this year. And I'm wondering in the public as a whole, do you think we need more of that attention and awareness to the fact that we do have men and women serving and fighting and dying in Afghanistan and Iraq? Or do you think generally speaking that the way the public views it now and how people go along with their lives and perhaps don't think about it daily or even weekly is that no different than the Vietnam era or World War II? Well, I really don't know if the magnitude of the observance is really as important as the fact that you are remembering. You know, even if you have something, nothing more than a silent march, you're taking the time to recognize, you're taking the time to remember and you're taking the time to say thank you. It really, it doesn't have to be as they do in Washington and all day from dusk to dawn type celebration. But I think the thought and the heart behind it I think is more important than anything. If you don't mean it, it doesn't mean anything. It needs to be something sincere. Looking back at your now 21 years as veteran service officer and the hundreds and hundreds of people that you have served and families that you've touched, what do you envision as being key challenges ahead? Well, it kind of, as I indicated before, I think the greatest challenge that I think that our programs face and you know as well, both of you know as well as I do, that the dollar gets a little smaller every day and it just seems like there's another hand reaching for it every day and both on the state and the federal level. I don't like to think of us as pawns but we are at the mercy of Washington and Madison to fund our programs. Unfortunate sometimes I think that we have to have a war before veterans benefits get hauled out and cleaned and polished and to see what do we need. We've been very fortunate, at least here in Wisconsin, our elected officials, the ones who represent our area from the time I've been in office have all been very supportive as our good friend, Cal Potter said one time, meaningful veterans legislation. There seems to be a united front on all sides when it comes to supporting veterans programs and I think that is still going to be a challenge and at the federal level, it's, I don't know how to describe it. If you're going to go to war, you're going to create veterans, you're going to have to expect, you're going to have to take care of the warrior sooner or later and you can't take from the World War II guys to help the GWO global war on terrorism guys and gals. You need to have it equal all the way across the board. The biggie of course and one that's probably the most visible is the Veterans Health Administration, the VA medical centers. We work very closely with the social workers at the Cleveland facility and at the Appleton facility to make sure that nobody gets missed. If we need to make house calls, if we need to send letters, if we need to make telephone calls, if whatever we need to do, we do because we know that somewhere along the line they'll fall through, they fell through from World War I, they fall through from the cracks from Korea and Vietnam all over. And when we find them again, it's not impossible to help them, but the farther away you get, the tougher it gets to address what needs to be addressed. So the big challenge is funding for these programs. There should be a better mechanism in place. There are probably some individuals in certain positions of power that do have an eye on the purse strings who probably shouldn't be there. Again, it depends on your point of view and how they react to the request that someone is making. They increase, I always get a kick out of they say, well, we increased the budget 27% over the last two years. Well, it was 57% behind when you started this, so you really haven't done a whole lot. We've only got about 30 seconds, Jim. And I did wanna ask you one more question. That is, what's been most rewarding for you working as veteran service officer? Serving those who serve. You can't believe it, unbelievable. Thank you, Jim. You're welcome. And thank you for joining us. As you just heard a lot going on in our veteran service office, providing very important information to a lot of people in Sheboygan County and done by Mr. Jim Riesenberg and one staff person, I can tell you in my 10 years working for Sheboygan County, I think I could count on one hand how many times I've heard anyone ever say anything of any concern about that office. And I can count on all 10 toes and 10 fingers and Chairman Van der Steen's as well, all the good things I've heard about Jim Riesenberg and their office and the people they serve. So Jim, thank you. You're welcome. On behalf of Mike Van der Steen, the Sheboygan County Board and myself, thank you for joining us. Next month, Tim Finch, our finance director, will be here to talk about our budget process. Thank you for joining us.