Code Of Vets w/ Gretchen Smith |EP840

[00:00:00] All men are created equal, but they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. By liberty and the beauty of God. If liberty means anything at all, it means right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

[00:00:33] America, great again. The Big Mig. All right, good morning and welcome back to The Big Mig Show. Of course, I'm your host, Lance Migliaccio. With my ride or die, co-host George Ballantyne. Of course, you know what this show is all about. Educating and unifying the country one episode at a time. Of course, it's always tip of the spear. We try to do the work so you don't have to, bringing you the real news. Because, of course, this isn't mainstream media.

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[00:03:57] You can't do a lot of things. It's all right. Yeah, there are a lot of things I can't do. That's absolutely true. All right, listen. So, of course, we've got a great guest today. You guys know what the show's about. Supporting each other on X. Doing what you can to help everybody, including we've always been focused on helping veterans. And our guest today has been the same, Gretchen Smith. She's, of course, a veteran herself. And she is the founder of Code of Vets. She's been doing amazing work for years, raising millions and millions of dollars. She's a U.S.

[00:04:26] Air Force veteran, mother and founder of Code of Vets. And, of course, they're a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate direct assistance to veterans in crisis. She was a security specialist. She served honorably in the Air Force, time overseas in Germany before, of course, founding her organization. You know, look, she did this. And I didn't really know this. Gretchen and I have followed each other on social media for a long time, as has George.

[00:04:51] And we've always interacted because I watched her raising money for veterans that were getting ready to be homeless or were homeless for their power bills, for food, you name it. Doing the stuff that, quite honestly, our own government should be doing. I get really aggravated when I see the amount of money that's wasted and that could be helping our veterans, you know, through USAID. Things like giving Chelsea Clinton $11 million or $84 million for doing absolutely nothing. The scams are nonstop.

[00:05:21] And what I love about Code of Vets is that 98% of the funds have gone towards helping veterans. And, you know, a lot of 501Cs and a lot of organizations are scams. That is not what Code of Vets is. And Gretchen Smith has always led that group with, I think, massive amounts of integrity. She's always done the right thing. And, you know, they always say doing the right thing is doing things when nobody is watching. And she has always done that over and over again.

[00:05:51] I wanted to get her on the show. She took a little break. She was overseas. And now she's back at it. So she's backstage. We'll get her in here. There's no reason to waste any time. Gretchen, welcome to the Big Mig Show. That's my job, bro. Oh, I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to step on you. Go ahead, George. Do it again. I don't want to step on George. It's Monday morning. I'll put him in a bad mode for the rest of the week. George, go ahead. I was just going to mute you. Welcome to the Big Mig Show, Gretchen. I'm just going to call her Gretchen. Make it short. Hey, Gretchen, how are you? Thank you.

[00:06:21] She's like, what? Thank you. Very good. Thank you. I know. Who do I respond to? Thank you. Thank you for having me on the show. You can respond to George. It's a pleasure. He's more sensitive than I am, Gretchen. I'm the one with the thick skin. He's a more sensitive, nice guy, George. Thank you. Listen, I don't know if these numbers are right. Did you raise money for over 8,000 veterans? Is it more than that? Is it less? It's more than 8,000 veterans, yes. That's crazy. And over $8 million. Are those numbers right?

[00:06:53] Yeah. It's almost $8 million. Almost $8 million. Yes. I mean, incredible work. We've pushed hard. Yes. No, you've done a great job. You know what? We've watched you from a distance. We've always engaged with each other online. I've tried to repost when you've been raising money. Because I think what you're doing is so important. And it's a struggle, right? Because the administration talks a big game, right? Even the Trump administration.

[00:07:20] They always talk about veterans and how important they are. But when it really comes down to delivering on those promises, I feel like it's short-sighted. But before we jump in, I want to give the audience a little of your background. Let's talk about your history as a veteran and kind of what led you to starting this organization. I briefly touched on it, but it was really a personal reason. So let's talk about your background first so the audience kind of knows who you are. Yes. I served in the Air Force back in the 90s.

[00:07:50] And I did that because my dad served. My entire family served, basically. And it just was the thing for me to do. And I enjoyed my time overseas. It really built and created who I am as a person. It gave me a springboard into life. And from there, I was able to attain four degrees. A lot of that was with my GI Bill. And you know what? I was a stay-at-home mom for years, raised my kids. But I wanted to do something for my dad.

[00:08:17] My dad was my hero, and he had lost his battle with PTSD. And I remember sitting and having one of my last conversations with him. And I just was like, Dad, what are you doing? You know, I was crying. I said, you know, you've got kids. You've got grandkids. We need you. And he just looked at me and he said, Gretchen, I'm done. I'm just done. They've won. And he was talking about his demons. He said, I can't do this anymore. I'm ready to go home. And there was no saving, Dad.

[00:08:46] I tried to save him. But it just, he was beyond help. And so I carried that conversation in my heart and in my soul for a very long time. And I focused on my kids. And then once they were grown, I started Code of Vets to honor Dad's life and his journey. And it just exploded immediately. I, you know, I started on, it was Twitter at the time, now X, and started talking about my journey as a veteran and then my journey as, you know, his daughter and what Dad went through.

[00:09:14] And it just resonated within the veteran community and took off. So, you know, and they, and veterans started sharing their needs. And so we quickly just evolved into this nonprofit. And I was able to raise millions of dollars because we, we operate so unique. We operate out on social media world. We're social media driven. And it's, what's more important is it's real time.

[00:09:40] So as veterans are coming through our system, they're getting the help that they need in those moments of crisis within a 24 to 48 hour turnaround of the application. And that's unheard of for any veteran organization. And we all know that the VA is not capable of assisting that quickly. They are a slow moving system. So we are a crisis response team. And that's what we do. And that's what we're damn good at.

[00:10:08] So, you know, I did take a break. I'm back and we are revamping it to become more streamlined and effective. And we'll be able to push more veterans through the system because what I want to do a little bit different this time is I don't want to wrap around them and do the long-term care that we provided. I really want to focus and hone in on that crisis response. And then we'll just turn around and pivot and partner with some other orgs and, and the

[00:10:37] VA as well and hand the veteran off once the crisis has been resolved. And then we'll just keep marching forward. And that way we can push more veterans through the system and get them that quick response in those moments that they needed the most. You know, and that's the incredible part about it. There's so many different foundations and organizations that I see their structure. And so much of the money gets funneled out into just what I would call total garbage. And that's not what you guys have done.

[00:11:07] I've seen you over and over again where a veteran is getting ready, is either homeless or getting ready to lose their house, can't pay their power bill or just so many others. And I watched these moves you were making and I was always so impressed that you move so rapidly. You'd get the money raising going. You'd be like, hey, great. We've kept him off the street or we got him back on his feet. He's now got a place. His power bill is paid. And it's really incredible. And to me, the hard part is when I, when I hear your story and I didn't know some of this,

[00:11:35] this came from me going out and scraping a bunch of information, watching a bunch of your interviews, it's tough. You know, some, the people that struggle with PTSD and your dad was a Vietnam veteran. There's a lot of them that came back from there. And of course the health exposures to agent orange were just horrendous. So many of them had awful health consequences, which the government has never made right. They exposed them to this. And, and the VA, you know, I, let me say this. If you were running the VA, I think it'd be a whole different beast.

[00:12:05] I think you could, you could move. No, it would. I think honestly, you have to cut out the bullshit in these organizations and government agencies. You know, George, you and I talk about this so often they get these vast amount of money and then the money gets funneled into so much garbage. You know, you look through the list that Elon Musk exposed and I don't know how much of that you, you, you poured through, but we went through a lot of it. You ever look at stuff like that and think, damn, you know, if I had that kind of capital,

[00:12:35] how many people could I help? And that's the tricky part is that when you run a foundation like you've been doing and you've done such an amazing job, you would think the optics of this administration or any administration, they say, Hey, listen, this Gretchen Smith, there's no doubt because you have been an avid social media poster, uh, you know, George, and I'm going to throw it at you here and just get your input. But the waste, it's hard for me. I'm a kid from the Bronx, right? It's hard for me to not start fucking cursing and getting really angry about it because I

[00:13:03] see the money and where it goes and I just get fucking pissed off. George, I'll let you go. It's funny that you're cursing because me and Gretchen talking about that yesterday. But so what really angers me is all the money that we see being wasted on Medicare fraud, the leaning centers in Michigan, Ohio, California, all that money wasted. Imagine that, that wasted money we put it towards our veterans. We have homeless veterans on the street. That shouldn't, they shouldn't be. Our veterans should come first before any of these people, any immigrants that are coming

[00:13:33] over, especially the illegal ones. That's first and foremost for our veterans. But for some reason, our politicians just don't see that. And that's the crazy part. That's the one that makes me really mad. I'm trying not to curse for Gretchen because good Christians don't curse. Yeah. It's an inside joke. I'm awful about it. Yeah.

[00:13:57] Just to piggyback off of that, you know, your comments, there are NGOs out there that have been given millions of dollars and look at what credit vets has accomplished. You know, you can do it in a more effective, efficient means. And it's just, there's, there's just so much fraud and waste. And I look at it, it's just so sick. And our veterans have truly been put at the back of the line, including with this administration. And I hate to even say that because I'm a very strong supporter of President Trump. Voting for him. Loving. But we have a lot of work to do in this community.

[00:14:27] And the focus needs to be on these veterans that are in crisis. And by crisis, I mean, they're either homeless, at risk for being homeless, or they're really struggling with suicide ideation from their PTSD or TBI or whatever, whatever mental health issues they have. So I love it when I see other orgs out there that are operating, you know, as quickly as possible to get to these guys. And I'm just so proud that I'm stepping back into the veteran space. I'm ready.

[00:14:55] I needed a break to take care of myself. But I'm back and I'm ready to focus on this vision of assisting as many veterans as I can across the country. And it's doable. It's possible. So we just need the funding. We're setting up the system. It's going to be much more structured to where we're going to be able to address more veterans and their needs. So we just need to get the word out that as the donations come in, we're going to be processing

[00:15:24] these veterans through the system and getting them the support they need after we get them out of crisis mode. Because that's what's most important. Because those moments are dangerous. That's when, you know, when you don't, when you can't pay your water bill, your light bill, and you see that your wife and kids are there suffering, or you're being evicted from your home, these vats with PTSD, they become suicidal. And it's up to us to step in and fill that gap.

[00:15:51] And that's what we're doing as the rapid response team. And it's just, I'm so grateful that we're going to be able to jump on board and be back in the community again, because the needs are still great. Let me ask you this, because a lot of the audience doesn't recognize this. You know, I never served in the military, although I did work as a government contractor for, you know, Halliburton, Blackwater, USA, and many others. I was an instructor, CQB, lots of other stuff I did.

[00:16:20] Maybe not some of my proudest moments, because of course, it's a different vertical. And let's talk about, what do you think, if we were going to take 100% of all veterans from all, you know, all military units, what do you think the percentages of them that come back with PTSD or develop PTSD or really have a hard time transitioning and that struggle of all veterans? What do you think the actual percentage is? Because you probably know that number better than anybody. You know what?

[00:16:48] I'm not sure if that number, that's something I could dig into and find out. But I do know that a lot of the veterans who come through our system do struggle with PTSD and they do have a rating. And so there's a different, there's a scale for it. Some veterans are at 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%. A lot of our combat vets are at 100%. But I do not have that specific number. But I know the need is out there. While we were up and running for almost eight years, we were overwhelmed with vets requesting assistance.

[00:17:17] And we tried to get to as many as we could. But there's, the line was never ending. And then on top, to add on top of that, when you hear and we saw these NGOs, once they were getting their federal dollars in to help veterans, they were reallocating those funds for refugees and the illegals that were flooding through our borders. And we were told this behind the scenes. We were on the phone with case managers that work for these NGOs.

[00:17:46] And that's what we were, we were actually told firsthand. So it's just absolutely mind-blowing to think that our, that our taxpayers' dollars that were supposed to go to veterans was reallocated once it hit state level NGOs. And they were told to use them for the refugees flooding into the country. That is infuriating. When we were working as hard as we could, working our asses off 24-7 to secure as many vets as we could that were in crisis.

[00:18:16] And to see all of that money being, you know, funneled to them was just, it just made me sick to my stomach. Because there were some vets that we did lose to suicide. Because you can't, we couldn't save them all. One organization cannot save them all. So I just, I just want to say that we need to shine the light on what is, you know, what has happened. And I do think there's, there's improvement under this administration with that particular, you know, with reallocating funds to refugees.

[00:18:44] But oh my gosh, just think about all the veterans that suffered during that time period that could have been secured and saved had we not reallocated those dollars. It just makes me, it just, this is where I start to curse. I'm not going to curse because of you. I'm going to try to do my best to resist. But it, yeah, George is like, boy, good luck with that. But that's the problem I have. The problem is I'm always a show me steak guy, right?

[00:19:13] You know, the talk is cheap. You know, you've always put your, your, your money where your mouth is. You've always delivered. I watch it deliver over and over again. And I always wondered what you thought as you observed that. Because we covered that on the show numerous times when these big lines were going out the door of the VA and it was loaded up with illegal immigrants. You know, most of them couldn't even speak English. And they're in there getting medical services. And the redeployment of the capital that was taken away from veterans for a bunch of people that illegally invaded us.

[00:19:43] Now, we know why, George, and you and I have discussed this, you know, over and over and over again. They wanted a ghost voter pool. They wanted to create this 30, 40 million deep ghost voter pool so they could assist in their cheating system. Because there's no other reason that you would, you would allow unvetted, the majority of them unvetted coming in here illegally. We know that terrorists came into the country. We know that there's eight divisions of Chinese military in the country, not full divisions, but segments. They're using the, the farmland and other safe houses across the United States.

[00:20:13] We've seen some of the bio lab stuff. We heard about the Chinese police stations in Texas and in New York. Somebody just faced charges on that. But the administration, let's face it, we have a problem. There's a, it's a unit party. And George, I mean, how many times did we discuss the redeployment of money being taken from other places where it was legally designated by statute? It was legally designated by Congress. And with the flip of the switch, they said, oh no, no, no, screw the veterans. They got plenty of healthcare. We'll just do this.

[00:20:42] Meanwhile, veterans were on, you know, on social media, you know, George, we saw that over and over again, talking about how they couldn't even get into the VA. They couldn't even get the services that they were supposed to be guaranteed. Because my opinion is the military is way underpaid. George, what do you think? Well, they're definitely underpaid, but I was just thinking, I'm like, you know, you know, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs is Doug Collins. And you don't really, I haven't really heard anything from him. I don't even know what's, what's he doing for the veterans?

[00:21:11] Has he made any changes? Because, you know, Trump has always talked about, you know, doing more for the veterans. But I'm, have you guys heard anything from him? Because he's, I don't know. It's crazy. Have any of the administrations, I have to ask you this, you know, I thought about this last night as I was looking through all your videos and trying to get on top of things and looking at the stories about your dad. Has the administration ever even fucking picked up the phone and called you? No. Has anybody ever said, hey, Gretchen, we really need you in D.C.

[00:21:41] We'd love to have you helping. You seem to really understand the situation. We checked out your 501c3. We realized what an amazing job. Has anybody even fucking made an effort to even talk to you? No. You would think that they would after almost eight years and $8 million and over 8,000 veterans that somebody would have called and said, hey, you, you, I think you know what you're doing. Oh, you would absolutely think that. Yeah. We've been in the weeds with the veterans.

[00:22:09] We're the, we're actually the foot soldiers, the one who's doing the work with these vets, getting them out of the crisis and finding them stability moving forward. I'm shocked. I'm actually shocked it hasn't happened. It's sad because there's been so much exposure with Code of Vets and what we've been able to accomplish. Just think if we had some federal funding, what we could do. It just would be amazing because we're good stewards of the money.

[00:22:37] And oh my gosh, I, you know, hope, you know, maybe after this interview, after I get back out there again, who knows? You know, I would love to have, sit down and have that conversation. Let them know what we've learned, what we see behind the scenes and how, how real the struggle is these veterans, we've had veterans call and just say, you know, Gretchen, I don't know how I'm going to feed my kids tonight. And you know how that tugs at your heart. I mean, when you have, it's just, or my, my lights are out. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:23:06] My lights are out or my kids can't take a bath or, you know, or we're being evicted in 15 days. And I'm out there pushing for grassroots donations. And imagine if we had those federal dollars there that we could secure those veterans in that moment when they need it the most, how many lives would we save Lance and George? I, I can't even venture a guess. How many veterans are in the United States actually of veterans in the military? How many are there total? Do you have any idea?

[00:23:37] I wanted to say there's 20 plus million veterans. So that's, that's. I wish everyone would give you a follow because I've got to tell you, I wish every veteran, and that's what I'm going to tell you guys, you know, how you support Gretchen is following, reposting your content, commenting, you know, to, to, to beat these algorithms on X, you really have to participate with people. And here's a mission that's just top notch. We got, we got about anywhere from 15.8 to 16.5 million veterans in the U S. Yeah.

[00:24:07] Is that what it is? Okay. And that's a big number. I thought it was around 20. Okay. It's a big number. And, you know, if they would just follow you and repush your content, number one, that would help you raise more money because there are some veterans that come out and are successful, but the transition into civilian life for anybody that, especially combat veterans, you know, it's, I don't know how to explain it to anybody. I've been in some live fire events over the years. I was when I was overseas. It's just a different thing. You know, the problem is, is it tuning down from that.

[00:24:37] Not everybody is good at it. You know, some people excel at it. We see a lot of success stories about some of the elitist veterans, you know, the ones that are the Marsox and seals and, you know, Raiders and others, you know, because they seem to transition in some ways a little better, but, you know, these guys are underpaid. I mean, I have to be honest with you, what you have to put up with when you're in the military, out of contact with a lot of military at different times. And, you know, they get, they get put through hell. There's a lot of things about it, but of course that transition to civilian life, it's not easy.

[00:25:09] And, you know, a lot of them have families. And the fact that you're having to have these discussions, honestly, it just really pisses me off. When you saw Elon Musk exposing all the fraud and you saw Nick Shirley exposing all that Medicare and Medicaid fraud, what went through your head? Oh, it's disgusting. It just makes me sick to my stomach because again, we're out on the front lines helping these veterans who they're just in crisis mode. They're just trying to survive day to day.

[00:25:36] And again, when you're being evicted and you've got your family sitting in a car with you or you've already been evicted and you have no hope, like, and those are the thoughts that go through their head is, you know, how did I get in this situation with my family? Or if they're, even if they're alone and they don't know who to reach out to and they don't think anybody gives a damn about them. And then to watch Elon, you know, he's rolling out all this fraud that he's discovered. It's just sickening because there's so many good things that we could do that with the

[00:26:04] money, our veterans deserve to be first in line, not last. And that's really where they're, they're still in last in line, in my opinion, because I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be here. If everything was under control, I would not be needed. This crisis, you know, this rapid response team would not be as busy as we have been. So it's just, you know, we need DC to listen to us because we are the boots on the ground

[00:26:30] and we, they need to hear these stories and, you know, these phone calls that we get. And, and when these veterans get the help that they need, when they're sitting in their car in a motel room, they just absolutely break down. They're so grateful. They, they just cry and say, Gretchen, please just let everybody know, anybody who donated or had anything to do with this mission, just let them know that. Thank you, that I appreciate it. And I can't believe anybody gives a damn about me.

[00:27:00] And so that's, and that's the message I want to convey on their behalf is they don't think anybody cares. And, you know, uh, everybody has those moments, right? We all go through dark thoughts at different times. I struggle with it more than, than some sometimes. Cause I, the difficulty I have sometimes is that my, what I think are solutions, uh, sometimes include an industrial wood shipper. I have a difficult time in my own head thinking, okay, I know how to solve this. I know how to fix it. You know?

[00:27:29] So I struggle with that, but, but not to the level these guys do. And the fact that they can turn to you, you know, when you, when you said you were winding down, I saw the post and you were heading overseas and living your life. I was actually sad. I was actually a little sad about it because I knew you were one of the people that was really doing the right work. And I want to talk about a word that we clearly can never use. George, whenever you think of our government, do you think the word efficiency applies? To our government? No.

[00:27:56] I mean, Doge with Elon Musk just showed that our, the computer system is so antiquated, but we always say this, they like them. Like they want it like that. Cause it makes it easier to steal and hide funds. If you had an up-to-date system that runs the way it's supposed to run, especially an AI system, maybe you wouldn't see all this stuff that the, um, the government gets away with and all the wasteful money. Yeah. I mean, you can't, they can't balance the budget. How can they operate a country correctly when they can't even balance the budget? Yeah.

[00:28:26] Well, that's what happens when you have installed puppets, when you have people that have no integrity, have never run a business and their whole claim to fame is trying to stay in powder so they can insider trade and, you know, give, uh, give, uh, deals to their friends and figure out how to manipulate the money. And of course, money gets laundered overseas. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about Ukraine or Afghanistan. We know the amount of theft that occurred there in the waste. You know, you look at what the waste is when, when, uh, Joe Biden left all that equipment

[00:28:55] behind, you know, and then Taliban flaunted it. You think to yourself, my God, we covered a story, Gretchen, where they left 60 and they always want to try to blame it on the contractors. But I found out a lot of the dogs they left on the runways were government dogs. They weren't, they weren't contractor dogs. They liked to, they always like to use the contractors as the bad guys. I know that firsthand because they want deniable accountability. They did it with the dogs. It wasn't true. I disclosed a lot of it with George, uh, gateway pundit covered a lot of it, but efficiency

[00:29:23] is, is a thing that I really want to discuss. I know we've got to take a short break. We can keep going. I'm going to ask you. You want to take a break, Gretchen? Three minute break, put a commercial. You want to keep going? Cause I know you're in the car. Are you okay for time? I can keep going. All right. All right. When we come back, we're going to be here with Gretchen Smith from, uh, of course, Gretchen Smith from, uh, uh, in code of vets. We're going to talk about efficiency, integrity, and honesty.

[00:29:49] Cause she does a job that, uh, the government could use a page out of her book. I'd love to see them have her run the VA for a while. We'd probably get rid of a lot of pep and have better services. So stay tuned. The big ming show. I'll be right back. Be here with George, Lance, and Gretchen. We covered more because of course this is edge of the night. Now we do it. All right. Don't go nowhere. It's just another manic Monday.

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[00:33:44] Here with your hosts, Lance Migliaccio, George Balentine, and our special guest, Gretchen Smith from Code of Vets. And we always say veterans, I got it right there down on the bottom, veterans over illegals. It's a shame that we even have to say that. And you look at your politicians and they'll want to do more for the illegals than they want to do for our veterans. And these are the same veterans that fight for our freedoms, for their freedoms too, and, you know, for what we're able to do right now.

[00:34:14] And they'll say in politicians, it's just, it's crazy. I don't never understand it. But maybe we should put Gretchen in there. Clean up the... I wish we had that ability because... She'd probably kick ass too, right? Well... Southern with a Southern draw. Oh my God. You know, but the no bullshit part of Gretchen, and the fact that she's been able to run an institution like this. And I want to talk about that for a minute. Efficiency. We just mentioned a minute ago, you know, you can't use the word efficiency when you describe this government.

[00:34:44] Wasteful. Conniving. Manipulative. Yeah. I mean, I thought that right after the Doge exposures, we were going to see a bunch of clawbacks on money. We were going to see a bunch of arrests. I mean, they were paying Bill Christo through USAID $8 million a year to post. For what? So he could sit there and talk trash talk. But you were able to run Code of Vets in a way that I think is just amazing. Delivering the way you did. You delivered 98 cents of every dollar.

[00:35:14] Went straight to veterans in need, which is just beyond unbelievable. Especially when you talk about the numbers of almost $8 million. What does that tell you? She didn't waste money, you know, for this and that bullshit. To pay this for her friend that, like, people have these organizations. Oh, they have this friend for secretary, this for VP, all these other crap. Just to waste money instead of going for what it really needs to go for. So how did you do that?

[00:35:38] Because I have to tell you that this has got to be in the top 1% or 2% of 501c3s in the country. Because most of them are created so that they can use those 501c3s to scam. And that clearly was never your intent. But that efficiency is just beyond unbelievable for you to do the job you did. And so much of that doing the work that you said it was going to go to. I mean, people ought to just be blown away by those numbers. Kind of explain to people how you did that.

[00:36:08] Because that just almost doesn't even seem believable. It's so good. Well, it was a lot of work. You know, 24-7, I was working. I'd get up at 3 o'clock in the morning. Because I set it to be a very simple process. So we had Twitter at the time. And then we had PayPal account. And so we would pull all of our donations in through PayPal. There were some people we liked to do right checks.

[00:36:37] So, you know, they were able to do that. But as the money was coming in, in real time, I actually was pushing it out to the veterans. So imagine millions of dollars flowing in. And I'm one person, you know. And then I had a partner who was vetting and screening the vets. And helping them. She had a volunteer team behind the scenes assisting them with their VA claims, with HEAP, SNAP, TANF, whatever. Whatever benefits they were qualified for. So we could secure them more long-term. So we're just not ATM.

[00:37:08] But it just, you know, it's hard to describe it. It's just we did it with the right heart. It's my passion. So that's how it was done. We wore many different hats to run on that 2% to 3%. It just was an every day, all day, on the weekends. Christmas Day, I worked. There was not a day off. It truly, you know, it's just heart-driven.

[00:37:33] So to see other orgs out there who, you know, it's, and I'm not going to name names. I'm not going to bash anybody. But there, you know, when your operation costs are 60%, 50%, 80%, that's just crazy. You know, are you even a nonprofit at that point? You know, it's just, it's doable. It's just hard work. But, you know, so this time around, I am under different circumstances. You know, I'm on my own now.

[00:38:02] So when I first started Code of Vets, you know, the first seven or eight years that I ran it, I did not have to take an income because I didn't need one. You know, I was able to volunteer all of that time. And this time it will be different. I will have to take a, you know, a small salary. But it's, we're still going to keep the costs as low as we can. And I think the goal this time, because my personal circumstances are different, will be 15%. So that's what we're going to shoot for.

[00:38:32] And I do have a company that's assisting me. It's veteran-owned. And, you know, they're donating their time in assisting Code of Vets being set up more structured. We're going to have more infrastructure. And that way we'll be able to push more veterans through the system. So we'll be able to help more this time around, which I've set the bar high at over 8,000. So we'll see. I'm so excited to do that. I want to break that record, you know? And I think you will.

[00:39:01] And I don't think, you know, even 15%, I would bet that if we checked on all the 501c3s across the country, not the ones that are just allegedly helping veterans, but I know quite a few 501c3s. We've had people even on this show. And I can tell you that they aren't even fucking close to 15%. You deserve to get paid for all the work you're doing. So whatever it takes, of course, I know you're single now and that, you know, your world has changed dramatically.

[00:39:30] But, you know, that's the resilience of you. You came out of that. You're grinding away. You know, I've seen you posting on social media. You're just, you're getting yoked. You're putting the work in at the gym. You're busy restarting up CODA vets, which I'm sure there are many veterans across the country that know about you and are feeling a sense of relief knowing you're back in the game. Let's talk about, I want to give the audience a couple of specific examples.

[00:39:57] Let's talk about some of the cases where, you know, people were in their darkest moments. Maybe just give one or two examples of they came to you. They called you online. It sounded like they were suicidal or whatever was going on in their life. And kind of what you did and maybe where they're at now and how that journey, what you did for them changed their lives. You have a couple of specific examples. You don't have to give names. I have so many, but there's a couple I do want to share.

[00:40:25] So we had a reserve captain in the army who wound up in, you know, some combat situations because he, you know, he was there with some of the wounded and he ended up injured himself and with PTSD. And he came to us suicidal and he was actually locked in his bathroom with a gun. And so we walked him through those darkest moments, got him the help that he needed. But he also was really struggling financially, had eight children.

[00:40:54] And just, we put a new roof on their home. We got them new appliances. A couple of their appliances, they were not functioning. So they were living without them, a refrigerator and a washer. Um, we, we also assisted him with car repair, just trying to get everything back on track so that he could focus on his mental health and stability. And he was a godly man, had helped some of the wounded while they were laying there.

[00:41:22] And it had just impacted his soul. I mean, he was carrying all of these stories and all of these people's lives inside of his soul. And he just said, I'm the one who's supposed to be helping others. But he came to us a broken, broken human being. Again, walked in his bathroom. And today, um, he's doing so much better. Years later, we walked with him for, he really was unstable for three or four years and kind of about stayed with him during that time period.

[00:41:52] And we assisted him off and own, um, uh, financially as well as emotional support. And getting him to, we got him into a place where he could get the, the help, the, the help that he needed for his PTSD. So we, we coordinated that. So I'm so proud and I don't want to, you know, share his name, but he's doing really well now. And I'm proud of that. And I, and I want to share something that's not about money. It's about the, it's the power of the words that we use.

[00:42:20] So I got a message on Twitter and it just said, Gretchen, this is my phone number. Will you call me? It was an anonymous account. I called and said, Hey, it's Gretchen with Coda Vets. And this, this guy answered. He said, you know what? He said, Hey, Gretchen. He said, I really needed to talk to you. And he said, um, you don't know my name and you don't need to. He said, I just need for, you know, that last summer you saved my life. He said, I was sitting at my kitchen table. He said, I had a gun in one hand and my phone was in the other.

[00:42:47] And he said, my phone vibrated and I looked down and it was a post from Coda Vets. And he said, you had posted a tweet about hope. And he said, I read that tweet. And he said, I read through the replies. And he said, of what all the other veterans were saying. And he said, that day you saved my life. And I just, I, you know, the hair stood up on the back of my arms and it made all the work and all the, you know, the stress that I carried.

[00:43:15] Just, I, I'll never forget that phone call because I heard the emotion in his voice. And he, he just said, I want you to know that what you do and what you say matters. It saves lives. And he hung up and I never knew who he was, but it was an amazing conversation. And it just gave me, that was my paycheck at the time is having those conversations with those vets who, you know, didn't, didn't know what they were going to do or they just were. And he had told me that, you know, he was an alcoholic and he was losing his children. He went through a horrific divorce.

[00:43:44] But he said that day, he said, I chose differently because of you and your words. So that's the power of social media. We can save lives out there. And it's not just about the money. It's just, it's, it's about our presence as being out there and letting them know, the veterans know that we matter and we care and we love you and we're, and we honor your service and we want to be there for you in your darkest moments. Yeah. Lance, hold on. Gretch, move over to your left a little bit so you can center yourself.

[00:44:14] No, you're on the left. There you go. Is that better? Yeah. Sorry. We want to be able to see. No, don't be sorry. You know, but that's, you know, that's the stuff that happens that nobody knows about. And I think it's so important for you to share that because it's hard for me not to get a little emotional about that when you talk about that, because a lot of people have had dark moments like that. I had guys I worked with overseas and, you know, they've struggled with a lot of stuff or some of the things they participated in and things that happened to them.

[00:44:41] And it's not easy, right? It's not everybody can just put that stuff aside. And people don't really realize it's some of the stuff you see that has nothing to do with direct combat, but it's things you see happening to civilians. Those memories don't really go away. I saw a lot of horrendous things and some of that stuff is still parked up in my brain when I think about the things I observed. And I wanted to deal with it in a different way.

[00:45:06] Occasionally I did, but it really wasn't part of what the operation was that I was involved in. And it's really interesting. A lot of people, especially veterans, have a tendency to not talk about things. They just kind of push it down inside, right? Because that's the discipline they learn that you're not supposed to be very touchy-feely about your behavior. And, you know, I'm just, I'm shocked. And for the audience, you know, one of the best ways you can help Coda Vets is reposting

[00:45:35] the content, even if you can't afford to donate. And of course, you know, we'd want you to donate. And let me be clear, this is not a paid interview. We didn't bring Gretchen on because somehow this is a sponsored or paid post. I don't get paid to repost Coda Vets content or support Gretchen. You know, we don't benefit it from any way. I just think this is one of those things that I'm disgusted by and I struggle with. You know, when I learned about Chelsea Clinton's $84 million, I literally wanted to run over

[00:46:04] to her house and choke her and seize her $11 million mansion and claw back the money she got for doing absolutely nothing. But that's the corruption in the government. And then there's so much of it and it would be so easy for them to take Coda Vets and propel it to the forefront. You know, a $10 or $20 million, you know, donation would be nothing for them. And I can't imagine the good work you're going to do with that because you stretched what I

[00:46:32] would consider, you know, a big number for you, but not that big a number when you think about how many people you helped. And to think like you changed people's lives like you did, I just, I don't know. Yeah, I do have one more story to share. And it's powerful. So we had, we assisted a Navy veteran that had terminal brain cancer and he had, the cancer was from his time on a ship from being exposed to different chemicals and toxins.

[00:46:58] And he was dying and he, he found out about Coda Vets and, you know, we were really struggling about, you know, you know, what can we do to help this? And he was in his thirties and had a seven-year-old little boy and a wife. And so we talked to him and, you know, got to know him and just said, you know, asking what, you know, what can we do? And he said, well, my dying wish is that my wife and my little boy don't become homeless. And he was, he had been the provider of the family and his wife was a stay-at-home mom.

[00:47:28] And she would not be able to find a job to, you know, to keep that home. So he knew that when he died, that they would end up losing that home. So I reached out to my donors. I put it, the mission out there. And I was able to raise $67,000 to pay off that mortgage of that tiny little house. And two years later, he did pass away. And his wife called and just cried and cried and cried and just was so grateful that, you know,

[00:47:57] she didn't have to worry about that mortgage. And she's now raising that little boy in that home where he remembers his daddy being. And that's the power of Code of Vets is, you know, we can do small things, but we can also take care of some bigger missions. When we come together as a community and take care of our own, it's possible. Anything's possible. Well, it's a powerful community. I don't even think they realize the amount of power.

[00:48:21] You can imagine if, you know, the 8 million people you helped went over into the Veterans Affairs leadership and started posting nonstop about the incredible work and how you saved lives. If all of a sudden 8 million people that you had helped and their family members, I'm sure many of them have social media. The power of them just going into some of these accounts, whether it's Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth.

[00:48:48] If they would do that today, if all of them did that today, that momentum could be tremendous. And I could think that they could get more optics. Do you have emails for everybody? Do you have emails for everybody you ever helped or phone numbers and emails? No. No. When I shut my nonprofit down, I shut the database down because we housed a lot of personal information and documents, the DD-214s, IDs, and I did not want to be responsible for that.

[00:49:13] You know, in today's world, hackers, I just didn't want that database just sitting out there. So I contacted Microsoft and asked them to shut it down, and they did. And that was to protect me. I didn't want to be liable because we did have some medical documents, too. So it just needed to be wiped out. So when I say I'm reestablishing KotaBets, I am. Now, I do have some of the emails and phone numbers of these guys that are in my phone. But as far as the database itself, it's gone.

[00:49:43] You didn't have a backup to that database, Steve? No. Believe it or not, no. I am not tech savvy. I know. I know. You guys can give me the business, but I'm not tech savvy. You know why? Because these people, obviously, you helped them in some of their darkest moments. And the power of that 8 million people could have a real impact. It could change things dramatically. So I would tell you, whatever data you get like that, protect the data.

[00:50:09] But it's really important because I think, you know, you should, honest to God, without a joke, you should have 6, 7, 8 million followers. You should have that many because every one of those veterans, their wives, their kids, all of them have- They have families. Yeah. And those families, knowing what you did, the power of that, it's like a bludgeon, right? Because they all avoid us. You know, they avoid us and we get, you know, you've seen the suppression on platforms. It happened to George and I. We've been suspended.

[00:50:36] But the power of that is unbelievable because at the end of the day, you could do, you know, because I think this, I think, you know, I'm going to make some phone calls when I get up the phone. There's a couple of people I'm going to call for you just to kind of ask them to maybe take this episode or this interview. You're going to get a must to repost or say something. You know. Yeah. You never know. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm going to ask a couple of people just to repost the episode and ask them if they can, you know, push a little influence there in the administration.

[00:51:05] But my point is this, you know, there is no doubt if you can mobilize some of that for yourself. I can't imagine what that could possibly do because those people need to repost. They need to, once you help them, the only obligation, they don't have to repay the money. The only obligation would be to share your posts, repost the follows and dump it into the people, the powers that be, because the only really way to get anything done in this administration is intimidation. That's the horrible part about it.

[00:51:34] They don't do it because it's the right reason. They do it because they start getting concerned about the optics. The only way to get Congress to move is that they get attacked or like you saw recently on some of the primaries, they got primaried out. And that includes, you know, the rhino Republicans, the Republicans and the Democrats, because I think it's a uniparty. When I look at the, when I look at our government, to me and George, you know, we cover this so often about uniparty and that the only way to really get them, it's not to threaten them, not with physical violence, but threaten them with like,

[00:52:04] well, we're going to have all the veterans in your state. I'd love to see you have some, you know, access to data like that, because I can't imagine what that could do if all those people would mobilize for you. That's why George asked about other platforms. And, you know, we're always here to help you with that. I got some suggestions for you that maybe have to do with AI and otherwise it might be helpful with what your mission is. Because I think your mission could be 10 times bigger. It can. It's scalable.

[00:52:30] What we're doing, it could be scaled to the point where, you know, we're assisting 20 to 25,000 vets versus 8,000. It's, you know, because it's, we're crisis intervention. So it's quick moving. It's fast paced. So that's, we're working on streamlining everything right now, this company. So I really believe we're going to be able to beat those numbers. I'd like to double or triple them. But the thing is, is the donations. If we could get those donations flowing in, oh my gosh.

[00:53:00] That's, you know, that's where it's at. That's where we can pull those veterans out of those dark moments. Like we can be there in those moments with them and walk them through it and say, hey, we've got you, you know. And I truly believe in never leaving a man behind, you know, especially, you know, just like my dad, you know, and I know we can't save them all. I know some are, you know, they are determined, bound and determined to take their own lives. But there are a lot who are just find themselves in a place where they don't see a path forward.

[00:53:28] And those are the ones that we can hone in on and zone in on and say, hey, we've got you. We have got you. We can pay your light bill. We can keep you from being evicted. And we can also get you out to Camp Hope in Houston, Texas and get you the help that you need for your PTSD. So there's so many different things that we can do for those vets in real time. So I would love to see this thing be scaled and be taken more seriously out in social media. And a lot of people support Code of Vets. Don't get me wrong.

[00:53:58] Because I do have over 800,000 followers on three platforms. But it needs to be triple, you know, quadruple that based on what we do and how efficient and how it works. I mean, we're just really good at what we do, you know. No, you definitely are. I'm looking forward to getting back in it. But I think you're unbelievable at what you do. And I think that I only wish the world, I wish there was more of this. And I'd like to see more financial support for you. I'd like to see this administration.

[00:54:25] I'd like to see a lot of the foundation money and super PAC money and all the other crap that gets wasted. You know, the DEI operas and all the other garbage that was disclosed. I'd like to see that money turned around. Of course, we can just stop the Medicaid and Medicare fraud. It seems like Congress will redeploy capital whenever they feel like it. I can't understand why they're not redeploying some of that capital for you. George, what are your thoughts on all this? Man, I want to get your input because I know you're over there thinking away. I was just doing something with the mods.

[00:54:56] Look, I mean, you can't save everybody. But as long as we try, we try or you do our best. That's all we get asked for. You know, I mean, I've seen people take their lives. I mean, it's not fun. It's not pretty. You try to do whatever you can. But, you know, if our Veterans Affairs made it more accessible and easier for our vets to go get help, you know.

[00:55:22] I mean, just going to a vet hospital is terrible. I mean, they don't get the level of care as they should be getting, you know. They should be able to just go to any private facility. Well, they have kind of obstructed them from care. I know. Did they start changing that somewhat Trump did? Allowing them to go to, like, private facilities or hospitals? I mean... Am I wrong? Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know because, you know, I don't go to the VA. I don't, you know, I don't have anything like that where I'd be qualified for that.

[00:55:50] Am I wrong that they create so many layers to get the help you need? Am I wrong about that, Gretchen? It seems like they make these veterans jump through a ridiculous amount of hoops when they've got real psychological issues or real PTSD issues or other issues. Why do they make it so freaking difficult for these guys when these guys, they want to make it, oh, you got to fill out this form. You got to go here. You got to go there. You got to... I've heard some of the nightmare scenarios. Why is it so freaking complicated?

[00:56:19] Yeah, we really struggle with that, too. The VA is such a complex system. It's just a beast to deal with. And all the departments operate separately, so I don't know if people are aware of that. And they don't communicate with each other. So when you go to one department, you have to fill this form out. But there's no cross-reference with no sharing within the system, which totally blows my mind.

[00:56:45] And then you go somewhere else, you know, and then you have to fill the same form out for that department. And it makes sense, you know, it's just repetitive. And for veterans who are really struggling and have suicide ideation, they can't focus, you know, and they can't get the help they need in those moments they need it the most. So we actually, when we dealt with suicidal veterans, we tried to steer them outside of the VA system and get them help out in the community because it's just quicker.

[00:57:15] When you send them to the VA doesn't work because it's, you know, I've got horror stories. And I'm not going to share those because I'm not here. I am not going to bash the VA, you know, because there are some positives about them. However, there are a lot of veterans that fall through the cracks and they end up, you know, orgs like us. And then we try to help them, you know, with their VA claims. But we also try to steer outside of the VA system because I just find it to be more effective that way.

[00:57:45] And we partnered with PTSD or Camp Hope out there in Houston, Texas. And I flew veterans from all around the country to go get help there. It's a six-month residential facility. They don't have to pay a dime. And, you know, so we would just send them there when they were struggling. And, you know, they would secure them and get them the help that they need through their therapy and program. And I found that to be more productive than trying to get them to go through the VA in their local town.

[00:58:14] So that's what I did is I had a couple other partners out in the country that I would use. So the VA system needs, it needs to be like a McDonald's. Don't you agree that when you go and you order a Big Mac, a Fridge Fries, and a Coke, you get the same thing every time. But you go to a VA in Washington State, you go to a VA in Charleston or a VA in Phoenix or Los Angeles, you're getting different service at the same department.

[00:58:44] It's just there needs to be more consistency. And there's not. It's it's I don't know why they make it so complicated. And it's just form after form after form. And it makes our veterans, especially the ones who are unstable, it makes them it does make them suicidal. And they just want to say, fuck it and give up and walk away. And, you know, they're entitled to these benefits and they're entitled to consistent quality health care and mental health care.

[00:59:11] And that is not what they're getting a lot of the time. And I'm sorry. I said I wasn't going to bash. No, no. But it's not about that. You know, bashing would be if there was no basis for it. If you were just, you know, if you just decided you were going to pontificate and be a nasty person. But that's not what you're doing. Historically, you've dealt with a lot of this and you've seen it from the inside. Not so much services for yourself, but you've had direct stories. And I've heard it. We see it online. We see them complaining about it.

[00:59:38] And, you know, it's funny how when I think of the military and so how quickly they want this unconditional service and support from individuals, not realizing that they're changing people's mental state. Some people just don't have the ability to walk away from what occurred because there are a lot of complexities. It's not just about health. You know, your dad dealt with Agent Orange, but the burn pits, you know, a lot of people have faced nasty consequences from the burn pits. Let's face it.

[01:00:07] The people that were in Kuwait when they were firing off all the oil rigs, they were breathing that. All that stuff, you know, has a direct impact. But then when all of a sudden they've got a bunch of people that are saying they've got this issue and that issue, the VA goes, well, I don't know. We're going to have to send you through five different departments to even see if that's true. Meanwhile, the guy's got cancer. You know, he's got breathing issues. He's got other issues. Of course, recently we had a show where we kind of disclosed about the food they're serving.

[01:00:36] I mean, China's supplying a tremendous amount of the food that's being served to our military. You know, I can't believe that that's even going on or even the nutritional grade. They're trying to get peak performance out of these guys and they're serving them slop. You know, nutritionally, it's not what they claim it is. That show was horrendous. When I started hearing about the details, I thought, oh, my God. That was with moms. Was it moms from America? Was that her? Yeah. You know, and it's pretty amazing that that's been going on.

[01:01:06] When you think about one of our foreign adversaries and a majority of a tremendous amount of the food being served in our, you know, in our mess halls and served in, you know, of course, in our MREs. And you look at how that's being assembled. You have to question, like, what the frick are they thinking here? It doesn't make a lot of sense. All right, let's do this. I want to make sure I give you plenty of time for this, Gretchen. And let's talk about the call to action. You know, let's talk about the next steps, what people can do.

[01:01:34] Number one, to follow you, get the message out. Kind of take people through, you know, the pieces of Code of Vets, the website, what's coming up in the future, how do they get involved, veterans following you. Give it. This is a shameless plug, so go for it. Yes, I know. Hold on, Gretchen. Just so you guys know that QR code, the blue one, that's for Code of Vets. That's been up on the screen the whole time. Go ahead, Gretchen. Yeah. Thank you for posting that. Yeah, so I think it's really important that you follow Code of Vets on X.

[01:02:03] That's where I do all of my work, that all the missions are going to be put out. So as soon as I get that 501c3 reestablished, the more funds that are in that PayPal, I can just hit the ground running. Because I already have veterans reaching out saying, hey, you know, I'm here. I need help. And I'm just having to hold off and let them know that, hey, we're coming. We're coming to the rescue. Just give us a little bit of time. Because we want to make sure it's structured and set up and that the infrastructure is in place.

[01:02:32] So we're ready. Just be prepared to post, to share all of those missions that I'm going to be pushing out soon. Because the more exposure we have, then the more donors that come in, and then the more vets we can get through the system. And I'll tell you what, it's worth it. So just go find us out on X at Code of Vets. And then I'm out on LinkedIn under my name, Gretchen Smith, Code of Vets. And we, oh my gosh, I'm so excited about what's coming.

[01:02:59] Because it's just with the way we're streamlining it, we're going to be able to get more veterans the help that they need in this crisis mode. And please give. That PayPal is there. The money is going to be accumulating while I'm working on getting it reestablished. And very soon, in the next few weeks, we're going to be up and functioning. And we're going to go hardcore. Or we've already got veterans lined up in the queue. Well, and that doesn't surprise me. So get on social media.

[01:03:29] So you've got Code of Vets. And what's your personal X account? Yeah, it's at Gretchen P. Smith. So I push Code of Vets there too as well. Share my journey throughout life. Yes. We do that. We have the big, big show. We've got our personal. That's what it takes. You have to do. Because of course, you can't always count on people. But the reposting guys, the commenting, replying to Gretchen, getting your veteran family members to go out and push. Because it's a big family. There's a lot of you that have veterans in your family.

[01:03:59] Maybe they don't know about Code of Vets. Hopefully, you're going to share this with them. And taking the short form part of this interview, taking the long form, taking the link for this interview. Go find every person you can in the administration. And dump the link in and say, do you know about this group? They're doing incredible work. Maybe you guys ought to focus on moving some of those stolen funds, money they're stealing while we're letting illegal immigrants steal veteran services. Maybe put some of these links out there. Because, of course, you're helping us grow the show. That's how we get more optics.

[01:04:27] But following Gretchen, reposting your content. If you can contribute, of course. You've got the QR code on the screen. We've also got the link in our chat. And, of course, you can watch our channels, The Big Big Show and G. Valentin. So, whatever we can do to help you. You know we're here. We want to see this work. I think it's super important. And I think you're one of the true people on social media. Instead of maybe posting some funny cat video today, maybe go over to Code of Vets and repost one of Gretchen's posts.

[01:04:58] So, Gretchen, thanks for joining us. Stick around. That's something I want to talk to you about. Thank you, George. Thank you, Lance. Okay. We appreciate you tuning in. And, George, what's our last words for the audience? I don't know. It's just another Manic Monday. I wish it was Sunday. Y'all have a blessed day. Catch you tomorrow. Peace. I might have to let it dry.

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