Maurice Wilson
[00:00:00] Welcome to Military Mutual, where we ensure the benefits of service for our military veterans, their families, and our businesses. I'm your host Derek Barksdale, and today we have an exceptional guest, a true leader in the veteran community, retired master chief. Maurice Wilson from N-V-T-S-I and reboot.
Maurice, thank you so much for joining us. It's an absolute pleasure. How you doing today, sir? I'm on a scale of one to 10, Derek. I'm doing a absolute 10, and I'm glad to be here, my friend. Absolutely love it. You know, you always a motivational force for so many of us, and you know? Mm-hmm. For those of the people who are on our show.
Listening might not know. You might not be familiar with your background and it's so huge. Could you share a little bit about the experience of you as a master chief and then also your role as you transitioned into N-V-T-S-I? Well, how much time do we have, Derek? It's only about a 35 minute show, but, uh, you know, give [00:01:00] us some cliff notes in one minute or less.
Well, hey, uh, thank you for the opportunity to, uh, meet your audience and, uh, share a little bit about me. Uh, retired Navy retired in, uh, 1998. Um. Hospital corpsman, uh, here in San Diego. Um, since retiring, I've been working in the community, uh, first for, uh, the Urban League of San Diego here for about 10 years.
And then in, uh, 2009, myself and, uh, retired Admiral Forman started the National Veterans Transition Services, also called Reboot, to really tackle some of the, uh, pressing challenges. Facing our transition service members and veterans. Uh, we developed and created a unique and still unique program called the Revu Workshop, which essentially stands for Reverse Bootcamp.
And I'll stop there and answer more questions later. Oh, no, that's absolutely perfect. You know, the fact that you're giving back to the community that is just you in itself. I mean, [00:02:00] you know, whenever anyone mentions, uh, Maurice Wilson, it's always about giving back to the community and more importantly, transitioning.
We're gonna talk about this thing called reintegration, which is relatively a new concept, but you know, in the end, you know, more than anyone on how transitioning from military is significant and how it could be life changing. Um, could you shed some light on. Really the key challenges that veterans face during those transitions and how you N-V-T-S-I reboot can assist them in overcoming these challenges?
Absolutely. Well, for me, reintegration is, uh, almost an old subject. I mean, it might be new for others, but we've been studying this now for about 14 years and we looked at, uh, all of the data that related to transition and then reintegration, and our obvious conclusion is that. When it comes to the process of getting out, there's a lot of energy, uh, resources and money put into [00:03:00] transitioning out, but very little put into reintegrating it, which is the bigger low, which is the bigger side.
And so we're on a, uh, a national, uh, initiative to really reeducate America about transition, but reintegration. 'cause you always have to ask yourself a question, what's beyond transition? What's beyond transition is your entire life. So that's a bigger process. Requires a lot more in-depth support. And so over the years we've uh, developed, uh, systems and processes, built relationships and, and are now working with, um, national and regional partners to promote what we call a veteran reintegration policy.
And, you know, go figure that. Here we're in 2023, you know, roughly. Everybody's been in a transitions business for years, and we're just now, just now talking about a veteran reintegration policy. Amazing, isn't it? I mean, you know, I went [00:04:00] through tap myself, you know, the TAP program. I went to the RUS course.
I went through a lot of different things and you know, you and I have had many discussions on how it's like you're drinking through a fire hose. It's usually. The last few months of your transition out of the military, and that really is what transitioning is. It's really, you know, your transition from out of the military and you're getting ready for that transition, but reintegration reintegrates you back into the civilian population.
And they're two really kind of different things, you know, preparing to get out. Then once you're out, how you're reintegrating into the system. So, you know, you talked about how you've been doing this for pretty much years. A lot of times we didn't put a term behind it or whatnot, and what I found that, you know, there's been a major disconnect between, you know, the transition and the new focus on reintegration did that civilian life and that it's a multifaceted process and something that, you know, sometimes you can't put a name on it, but it exists out there and there's voids that are there.
How did reintegration start [00:05:00] becoming the focus and what are some of the main nuances that veterans might encounter on the reintegration side? Because a lot of talk is always about that transition, but when you go to the reintegration and the civilian side, you know, what are those things and those nuances that the veteran might encounter?
Well, you know, the, the, the big nuance, uh, and then again, this is, uh, everything that I share with you, uh, is gonna be backed by research. And so we try to, you know, go beyond, you know, just our opinions, but actually, um, look at the hard evidence-based data that's been, uh, collected over, over years. And, and so in, in a nutshell, when you join the military, you are programmed for military service.
And, and you and I have talked about this before. Yeah. Which requires the changing of what we call your locus of control. In other words, the management of your life, your overall life is really kind handed over to the military, rightfully so, to be part of the process or the system. However, when we [00:06:00] leave, and here's the nuance, when we leave the military.
We have to subconsciously reas assume that control of our life. Going from externally driven to internally driven, and then we have to do three, three distinct things. Now we gotta do a lot of things, but just to kinda keep it simple and, and, and easy, the three major things that we have to do, number one, we have to create a new identity.
Number two, we have to find our new purpose. And number three, we have to define our next career. Now, when you think about coming in the military. Everyone who's gone through the process instantly, the military gives you those three things. You get a new identity, you get a mission, and you get a career. And albeit the career is not necessarily by your own choosing, it's really at the needs of the military.
But that's really the cover, that's the arrangement. However, leaving the military, and again, a big report just came out last month that identified, which is years of, of [00:07:00] research that identified the biggest. Challenge that individuals are facing that's really, uh, promoting, let's say or predisposing them to, uh, suicide.
Stress is loss of purpose, not having a mission. And we can, we can go on when it comes to finding the job right now of, let's say, uh, and I read a report last week from McKinsey and Company of 150,000 veterans. Got out and, and got jobs, 90, 90,500, 90,500 were working below the level of pay they were working while they're in the military.
Wow. So when you, when you look at that and you start asking the question, okay, why is that, especially where right now, currently, veteran unemployment. Is at a, a very low 2.9%. The national average is 3.8, so we're doing much better there. However, when you dig into the, the details how they say when you disaggregate the data, you find that [00:08:00] 61% of our veterans are underemployed.
And so the question is why? What's going on with that? Yeah. I'll pause for a second and let you ask some questions and then I'll give you the answer to, to the why. I love it. There is so much that you packed into what, three minutes that you just talked about and you know, it started with programming. You know, we're programmed when we come into the military and it starts from bootcamp and.
A lot of people say, oh, people get brainwashed in bootcamp. But it relatively, it is kind of that way, you know, we get programmed and, you know, when we come out we almost have to be reprogrammed, like you said. And that's where like reboot, the name kind of came from because we have to reprogram our minds.
We have to kind of almost, uh, wipe the, uh, hard drive, clear and rebuild. Now, you know, there's so many great things that we've learned while we've been in the military. That are tangible, you know, to us growing and serving for a better, uh, purpose. Mm-hmm. And I think that that's the thing that we can't wipe away no matter what we do with that hard drive.
Our sense of [00:09:00] purpose grows so much while we're actually in the military because we're serving for a bigger purpose than ourselves. You know, anyone who joins the military. You know, a lot of times, hey, I need something to do. But once you're in, especially after that first tour, it's all about serving for a bigger purpose than ourselves and so forth.
And so you can't really ever get rid of that. That is ingrained in the hard drive. It can't be wiped away. But we do have to reprogram some of the things. And you know, when you're talking about the suicides that are there because of the fact that there's a lack of purpose in their lives, how are they planning on tackling that?
And what is your organization really doing to. Really help in that aspect because, I mean, life is so critical and to see 22 deaths, you know, going on per day, you know, by our military, it's just critical. And to see that, hey, we're kind of figuring this out and what you're doing at, uh, N-V-T-S-I and in the transition and reintegration world is gonna be a big thing.
So what's going on there and what, what can we do to. So, again, you packed a lot into that question, so lemme unpack that one. [00:10:00] Uh, so, so again, there's a lot going on with that. Let's, let's start with, uh, first and foremost, you're spot on. Um, when we go through the, the military programming process, we have to be, um, configured and program for military service.
That's a very proactive kind of process. You go through bootcamp and during bootcamp, you over time, anywhere from eight to 13 weeks, you adapt and adjust. To the new environment. You learn new habits, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations. All of these things are internally embedded within our subconscious mind.
And so you don't see it fill it, but you know it happening and you're proud of the club. Now leaving the military, and again, let's always, uh, kind of go back to square that belongs to the military. When you leave and take off the uniform, what you're leaving behind. You're leaving behind the mission, you know, or excuse me, the identity.
You're leaving behind the mission, the purpose, and you're leaving behind the career. [00:11:00] 86% of most transitioning service members do not want to do the same thing in the civilian life that they did in the military. Yeah. But when you ask that same group, okay, what is it that you want to do? They can tell you.
You get a, I'm undecided. I haven't figured it out yet. And so that's where the problem comes on. So now let's kind of go back to the next question where, okay, well, who's responsible for what? We, we've had many, many, many discussions about who's responsible. So, and again, first you gotta, before you can take responsibility for anything, you have to know the what, you know, what are you really trying to do?
Is it just to get a job where, okay, we've been doing that for years. Let's just say for the last 20 years we've been pursuing the job. But overall, and fundamentally, that's not working. If you look at the data. Where we see that, okay, we have this huge underemployment scenario, so there has to be a different approach.
And then the question as you brought up, well, [00:12:00] who's responsible? And so all fundamentally, automatically the individual. But the problem is, again, the individual doesn't know how. That's a changing your mindset. Is a process that you have to go through, something somebody has to show you how you can't just take off the uniform and instantaneously I'm a civilian.
It really doesn't work like that. No, not at all. I mean, that's, that's a, that's a nice simplification, but the reality is. You have to change, you know, and, and it's sort of like relearning new habits. And, and Derek, you're spot on. You can't wipe the hard drive clean. It just, that's not how life works. So you have to rewrite the program, you know, but in order to rewrite the program, you have to go through a process to redefine who and what you want to become when you get out.
And so what you have to do, and I'm, I'm speaking to your audience out there, the three things that you have to do. You have to create a new identity. You have to do it. You have to define your new purpose, [00:13:00] and then you have to define what the next career is. That's on you. But most people don't know how. So that's where the disconnect is.
We get, we all get out, but we don't understand, don't know that process. Hence that's why we developed a reboot workshop, which is the only reverse bootcamp that uses science and it's very evidence-based that helps you with that process. Yeah, and I love what you are doing there. You know, I've had an opportunity to sit on, on some of those classes and just the way that you're coming from a new perspective on education and you know, my degree in workforce education development, I just have this passion to really educate veterans or family members specifically.
And going back to your original thing, you know, I was fortunate enough that, you know, when I was transitioning outta the military, the whole reason why I was getting out. And I retired. I had this five year plan that, you know, I had a great mentor of mine who told me I needed to have, as I started to get out and mine started around real estate, I knew that when I got out I wanted to be in real [00:14:00] estate.
I wanted to, you know, change the way veterans are served through real estate in some capacity. But I'm not gonna lie, when I got out, I was a little concerned with not having that steady paycheck. So I found myself getting into. What I had done all these years because I knew, hey, I can get a paycheck. I knew it.
There wasn't a question about it. And so I got into government service. I was Deputy Chief of Police and Navy region Southwest. It was everyone else's dream job, but for me it just didn't really hit the mark. You know, success is getting what you want. Fulfillment is getting what you're made for. And although I was great in law enforcement, I really enjoyed it.
It really wasn't my passion. And so I was fortunate enough to understand my passion through, you know, changing way veterans are served in, uh, real estate. And so that worked for me. But a lot of other people don't know that yet. Especially those that may be getting out after four years, they're still figuring life out in itself.
And so, mm-hmm. What I really feel in going back to my original, uh, point is that education is the thing that bridges that gap. [00:15:00] And you've already made some milestones in how, you know, changing, uh, education from, you know, how you're teaching people. Kind of the reboot process is really developed and you know, I'm fortunate enough and I'm really thrilled that you know, our company, military Mutual.
We're developing a personal, professional on demand platform for veterans or families and even business owners, uh, for veteran owned businesses. And I think that the way that education has been before where people sit down for two weeks and kind of learn in this regimented, uh, process, um, is old and it's archaic and there's a point for it, there's a place for it.
Don't get me wrong, you know, where they have to have that. There's ways that I think that we can learn and, you know, smit and snippets of information. It's a proven fact that, you know, people, um, who have an attention times, uh, attention, uh, timeframe nowadays is much shorter than it was 20, 30 years ago.
You know, right now we're literally nine to 11 [00:16:00] minutes in attention timeframe. Um, so the goal for me is really to provide some on demand aspects of. Personal professional development that they can learn. You've already started it where they're getting into a classroom and they're not getting the old way of just regimented training that's shoved down their throat.
It's now a concept where they interact with one another. They're thinking, they're talking through different challenges. I mean, people are crying in your classes because after resurface some things that you know. That they've suppressed for many years. So, you know, can you explain to us, you know, maybe the different ways that you're trying to come across on the education aspect and reintegration per mm-hmm.
Uh, particularly, uh, that you think is gonna make a good wave for the future and how our veterans can be better prepared as they transition out and reintegrate Well, great. Another, another, uh, really good question. And so what we, um. What we've learned and what we've been studying is the, the process of learning and the process that, you know, first and foremost, we always have to go back [00:17:00] to, uh, anatomy and physiology.
Anatomically we haven't changed. Uh, the human body, you know, hasn't evolved or changed, uh, in quite some time. And so however, we were learning, let's say 500 years ago, we are still learning. Our body is still designed to learn that same way. Although the amount of information, though, is now hitting us rapidly, there's a, a thing called, uh, Moore's Law and Moore's Law, Neil Moore, uh, he created the computer chip and his pH his, uh, his algorithm was the, the computer chip is, is.
It's a processing capability is gonna double every six years, excuse me, every six months. And it'll be an exponential curve of, of, uh, rapid processing. That's, that's technology and that's information that's growing at leaps and bounds, but we are still the same. And so when it comes to how much information gets pushed to us, we can only absorb.
A certain [00:18:00] amount of information at a given time. In fact, scientifically, there's this thing at the base of our brain at the top of our spinal column called the reticular activating system, and the reticular, we call it the RAs. The reticular activating system will only allow 134 bits of sensory data per second to get inside your brain.
And so it doesn't matter if you're exposed to a million megabits of you know, of information. Like right now we're exposed to over a million megabits of sensory data. It doesn't matter. The brain can only process. 134 bits of century data per second. So what is it doing? It's filtering out information. And so to your point earlier, well that means that we can, we can only learn so much at a time.
So what we have to do is just kind of understand that process and then, uh, sorry about that. I thought I turned the phone off and No worries. Deliver information in that way. So what we've learned. [00:19:00] Is that when you're learning and adapting, you can't get everything that you need. Let's say in, in one week.
Remember when you went through TAP and I went through tap, it was what they call, uh, information by fire hose, a lot of well-meaning intentions. So let's kind of, you know, put it in perspective. The folks over at tap, they mean well, they want to help. They wanna do their very best for us. However, we can only absorb a certain amount of information.
And so what has to happen is you have to. Start the process over time so you can absorb exactly what you need. Now you, there's another thing that people aren't really familiar with and, and it's how their mind actually works. You know, what, what causes you to. To learn or not to learn? Well, there's this thing called the creative subconscious mind that has to have a certain, um, piece of information or direction in for, in order for it to work.
And so when we get out and let's say we don't have a, a mission or we don't quite know [00:20:00] what we want to do in terms of our brain and our thought process. It's looking for answers and it's looking for information and it's looking for direction. And if we don't know what it is we wanna do, we get into a state of just confusion.
We're scrambling around, we're not certain about anything. A lot of anxiety, stress builds up in us. And so we can go on and on and on. In fact, there, there are some people who are still stuck in the same place 'cause they haven't figured out what it is they want to do next. And so the advice that we give people is, look, start early.
Relax and, and try not to do this by yourself because if you try to do it by yourself, you, you may not have all the right answers, or you may end up telling yourself some things that are not realistic versus getting some outside more, and I wanna say professional help, whether it's getting a coach, a sponsor, or, you know, I'm gonna do a little pitch for reboot or go through the reboot workshop.
And because again. You know, the science that [00:21:00] we have is, is based on 50 years of evidence-based solutions that has been working. And the results that we've been getting from the workshop is like 98% success rate because we take it very simple. We're not trying to do anything complicated other than to help you, uh, adjust your thought process and really understand what's going on, and then focus in on the key components.
And so what are the three components I go back to? The three components is you have to create a new identity. Identify what is, you know what that you wanna do, your self image. Number two, you have to find your purpose, your next mission. When you leave the military, it's essential for you to find a purpose.
And then number three, obviously you need to survive and exist and, and pay your bills and the whole nine yards. And so find that occupation. That you like, that's gonna help sustain your family. Don't just take any old job, put some thought into it. Find something that aligns with your values and then move from there.[00:22:00]
Uh, very well said. And so, you know, for reboot, uh, great course, great class. I just praise it. I think everyone that is in the military should go through it as they get ready for their transition. And if I remember correctly, is it open to those who've already reintegrated or started their reintegration?
Do you have to be active duty to be a part of reboot? Oh no. Thank you for bringing that up. So, um, um, we work with everyone across the board. It doesn't matter what era, what age, um, what your status is, even if you have a, a other, and in honorable or even a dishonorable, we'll work with you to help you rebuild your life.
We call it relearn, rebuild, and rebrand. And on that note, as a result of C, we've made some. I guess you could call it adaptations just like everyone else. At, at one point we were only doing the full three week reverse bootcamp, but COVID-19 essentially shut that down. So we got, we took it online. So now [00:23:00] we have an online version that either we can go two weeks or we now have a, what we call a four hour reboot, your life and career seminar.
So we can address or expand this to pretty much anywhere, anytime, any place to get the fundamentals in. And again, because we've been doing this for such a long time, we've figured out how to, how to hit the highlights. And then to your point, how to provide this learning. On a more distributed basis that says now we engage in what we call high touch and high tech.
The high touches will start with, let's say y For example, yesterday I was on a USS midway, uh, conducting a one day face-to-face reboot your life and career seminar. But that's phase one. That's to create the awareness. And then phase two. Is to get you locked into the process, connected with coaches, and then begin the ongoing learning process.
'cause again, what we don't want to do is try to bombard you [00:24:00] with everything at one time, because we know that people learn overtime. And again, because you're reticular activating system. Is always working all the time, you're only going to receive information that is relevant to your current needs at the, at that particular time.
And so we've now figured out how to distribute it over time, apply it to every lifestyle and make it available to you no matter where you are. Love it. And you know, we talked a little bit earlier about, you know, different types of training. You have this or that training you have just in time learning, and then you have like solution based learning.
What would you kind of put reboot in your organization as far as the learning capabilities in if there were three different buckets, so to speak? So we, we call it generative learning. Okay. And, and generative learning is, is more, again, it's needs based. Um, where you're the one that's driving the learning, you're the one that's interested in it.
And so our. Instructors are facilitators. And [00:25:00] so we bring up the relevant topics that are important to you, knowing that you're really only going to concentrate on the things that you want to concentrate. Plus, we also meet you where you are. And what I mean by that is we're all, uh, at some level of emotion all the time.
You know how we feel when we get up today. We may feel one way tomorrow, we may feel another way. It all deme depends on what's happening in our life. In fact, we call those. Life domains. So you, when you look at the whole person, well, yeah, there's the job, but there are your finances, there are your relationships, there's your healthcare, there are other factors that are driving your life.
And those factors also command your attention as well. So if you are having a financial challenge and someone says, Hey, look, uh, you want to go play some sports? You may say, look, I, I, I can't, I can only concentrate on that. What you're concerned about the most is where you give the most energy. And if there are no relevant quick solutions, you're gonna focus a whole lot on that.
[00:26:00] And so what generative learning does, it takes that approach and it up, it applies it to you. When we first start off the workshop, one of the first questions we ask you is, how are you on a scale of one to 10, how are you doing? And there's, and, and Derek, there's a lot of hard science behind that, but there was a study.
That was recently concluded by the Henry Jackson Foundation called the Veterans Metrics Initiative, TMVI. And what they did was, again, they connected with a cohort group of transitioning service members and veterans, and over time they asked them key questions about their transition and their reintegration, and they asked them.
All centered around how do you feel? And they came up with a scale that again, they found that those who had a higher number, again, on a scale of one to 10 felt better and were more relaxed and were more successful with their transition versus those who had a lower number. And so in the workshop that I did yesterday, that was the first [00:27:00] question that I asked.
And so I had active duty and a few veterans in the workshop and I asked them, I said, on a scale of one to 10. How are you doing? And you know what the numbers were and this is, this is consistent. This has been happening for years. Usually they'll come in at a three or four. That's where they are. And think about that.
If you are feeling like a three or four, then that's what life, that's what life is to you. That's how you see the world and that's how you respond to the world. And that means that nothing else is gonna get through until that, until that number changes. And so our endeavor is to bring that to their, their attention and their awareness, and then show them how to go from a three, four.
Up to a 10 because, you know, fundamentally we all should be living a 10 life, you know, being in, you know, in the military, getting outta the military, we got everything to be happy for because of all the gifts and, and the blessings that we got from being in a military service. We just have to take advantage of it.
But again, that's part of the thought process. I love it. You [00:28:00] know, and it starts off with asking questions. You know, I'm in the real estate space and what I've learned. You're taught, you know, whenever you go on like a listing appointment, you know you have this listing pack and it's minus 57 pages deep.
And you know, you originally start out, at least I did, and you go over each page and you're just bombarding 'em with all this information. But really the biggest way of making a connection and. Finding out what's important to them is by asking questions, and so many people just give information, give information.
Don't ask the questions. That can really help where they are in that timeframe. Now, we've talked a lot about overarching and how education, you know. Has changed over the years and how you're integrating that education change into what you're doing. Mm-hmm. And I love it. Absolutely. And one thing I really want to do though, is I wanna ensure that people leave here with some nuggets of information that they could walk away from for those that may be in their transition phase or their mm-hmm.
Uh, reintegration phase or something that, man, I really [00:29:00] wish I would've done it differently last time. You know, let's delve into the overarching theme of personal and professional growth. During and after transition. And how can veterans, and this is a question for you. How can veterans prepare themselves mentally?
And skill wise for a new career path, especially considering the responsibilities they may have with their families that are there. And this is something that they can take away from. So, audience, write this down. 'cause Maurice is the expert and he's gonna provide this for you. What do you think there, sir?
Well, thank, thank you for that, Derek. Uh, the first thing is realize that you can't do it by yourself. Now, I know we feel like we're super human and we got this, but I, I've been in this for a while and almost everybody, you know, from. Oh seven zone down. Always, always come back to, Hey, I thought I knew, but I didn't.
Okay, so realize that you can't do it. You, you know, by yourself. And get a coach. Get a sponsor, you know, connect with somebody who can help you because again, you need that external opinion and [00:30:00] support. Now, for those who are currently transitioning out, I'm gonna make it really easy for you. Uh, we have a, we've developed an app.
Call the Managing Your Transition Timeline app. It's www dot m ytt 365 online. Sign up for free. It's a hundred percent free, and what it's gonna do is gonna help take the burden of tracking and managing your transition. Off your shoulders and it's gonna automate the process for you. It's gonna give you some feedback.
It's gonna become your personal digital transition assistant, and it's gonna communicate with you, give you some feedback, but it's gonna do more. It's also gonna connect you to an. Army of what we call community transition assistant advisors, because again, let's go with the assumption that most of us don't know everything and don't have all the answers, and so we wanna have a personal coach.
So signing up on MITT 3 6 5 online, you're gonna [00:31:00] automatically be matched with a trained and skilled coach. That's diving, that's dived into this information that knows all the resources, who can help you with admir it of things. That's number one. For those who are veterans, we have a simple solution.
There's what we call the Center for Military and Veteran Reintegration. So this is a new national initiative that we are, we've been working on this for years and it's, it's bubbling up and it's coming to fruition. As Derek mentioned, there's transitioning out. Then there's reintegrating in. This is the first step in that process of reintegration.
Again, realizing that you can't do it by yourself. Now, this is not to say that you shouldn't go down to the VA or to your county, uh uh, public services to get your veterans benefits prize. You should do that. But at the same time, there's that connection to the community that's that guidance and the coaching.
So for that, we have www dot cbr, us. Simple, [00:32:00] really easy, and once you sign up, we'll put you into what we call our directory. And the directory is, this is kind of cool in that it's a directory of you where you sign up and basically. It's your, your profile of what's going on and your access to a mire of community resources.
And it doesn't matter where you are. Uh, this can work for you. And then thirdly, for those that are somewhere, let's say about a year out from transitioning, or let's say you got about a year to go, uh, and you're getting ready to get out, we have a new initiative and this is powerful. It's called onward ops.org.
Onward ops.org and Onward Ops is an amazing program. Now this is, uh, it's bigger than I could have imagined in that it's a partnership between the va, uh, local community organizations, national organizations where it doesn't matter what military installation you're at, you go to www.onops.org. [00:33:00] You sign up for a local sponsor in your community, anywhere in America, all you do is just go to the website and just sign up.
And once you're in the database, the, the system automatically administers what we call some like a risk assessment. 'cause we wanna know how you're doing. But once that's done, and let's say if you're at risk and if you have some challenges. We'll marry you up or connect you to a, a veterans a, a VA certified social worker to resolve whatever issues you have.
And then there's that warm handoff to the community. And what's really happening here, Derek, on a, on a big national scale is we're beginning to partner up with the American Legion, the VFW and all these local organizations because everywhere across America, they're like. 14,000 American Legion Post. And so we're working with the American Legion locally here to establish what we call center of military and venture reintegration, where you just go to your, you know, when you get out, the first thing you do is just go to your [00:34:00] local American Legion Post and you check in and we got you.
That's it. You're, you're in the system. We, you're not alone. You, you'll never be alone with this process here. We're excited about that, as you can tell. Wow, that's awesome. You know, there you have it. I mean, I, I wanted one good nugget and you gave us about 40 with some resources that they could go back to.
Um, and there are resources. You don't have to go through your transition or reintegration alone. You know, there are so many people like Maurice, myself, and other people that are out in the community that really, really wanna give back. Really share what we've learned and what the community and learned.
And you know, Maurice is in the space. He works literally, you know, with Congressional, you know, affiliates and trying to solve this big problem. So, you know, reach out to Maurice, reach out to reboot, uh, you know, utilize those different platforms that he mentioned. And also, you know, our audience. Uh, I just wanna make sure that, you know, military mutuals our on demand.
Platform is gonna be a wealth of [00:35:00] resources for mm-hmm. Professional development, uh, growth, um, professional and personal, professional growth so that you can learn from it. So, you know, as your veterans, uh, that are out there, um, and you're going through your journey, you know, just know that we are here to help and support you.
Mm-hmm. With that being said, thank you so much Maurice, for joining us. Uh, wealth of Knowledge. We are gonna be doing this at least once a month with Maurice on here, talking about transitions and reintegration, and diving deeper into the intricacies of it so that we can help you. Mm-hmm. But until next time, stay resilient and keep growing.
Awesome. Thank you. Thank you.
