[00:00:00.00] - Martin Duarte
Imagine having no legs and having no resources with a vehicle that doesn't have enough to drive equipment that you can operate. How would that make you feel as a person, as a human being, especially somebody that you fight for this country?

[00:00:14.11] - Trevor Nealy
Welcome to Veteran Led. I'm your guest host, Trev Nealy, filling in for John Berry. Today's Veteran guest is Martin Duarte. Martin retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant from the United States Marine Corps after serving 30 years. In 2016, he was hired as the Assistant Program's Director for Wounded Warriors Family Support, where he now serves as the program's outreach coordinator, helping Veterans, service members, and their families. Martin, welcome to the show.

[00:00:42.22] - Martin Duarte
Thank you for having me, sir.

[00:00:44.13] - Trevor Nealy
So, Martin, you served in the Marine Corps for 30 years. You retire, you start your transition back into the civilian world. How did you go about that?

[00:00:52.15] - Martin Duarte
Well, actually, sir, I was blessed. I had a job before I even got out of the Marine Corps. In 2008 I was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, to Quantum, Iraq. That's where I met the founder and the CEO at the time was Colonel John Folsom. Now, keeping in perspective that I was only supposed to have been there for six months, But instead, I got extended for additional seven months since we were closing down to Quantum. During the second rotation, my extension, that's where I met Colonel Folsom. For some reason, he took a liking to me. I was one of the briefers that I would have to brief the entire staff regarding casualties, regarding status of what was going on in theater. Every time he see me during the second rotation, every Friday during our meetings, he'd come and say, I'm going to hire you. Well, after our deployment, We returned back. Of course, he was a reserve, so he deactivated. In 2014, I was in Afghanistan. We were doing the retrograde from Afghanistan, shutting down Camp Levenek. We had received a request from an organization to fly about 200 flags for them before we closed the FAB down.

[00:02:04.16] - Martin Duarte
When I returned back, I got a phone call saying, Hey, there's somebody downstairs that wants to pick up the flags. Of course, I took down the flags and Colonel Fawson was there. He said, Hey, glad to see you. When you getting out? I completely thought that he had forgotten the conversation about it. I said, Sir, I'm transitioning out. I got a couple of months. I'm doing right now my medical blah, blah. I said, Well, what are you doing next week? I said, I'm not really doing anything. He said, Well, why don't you come to Omaha? Of course, you always hear these conversations throughout your career by people. I was getting around with them. I said, Yeah, just send me the ticket. Let me know when you want me to be there, and I'll be there. I didn't hear from them for two, three days. The next thing I know, I got a ticket. I had confirmation, reservations, went up there and got hired. So literally, after I got out, the only requirement that I told the colonel said, Sir, I need six months to decompress. Well, I lasted two weeks. For some reason, after two weeks, I was going insane.

[00:03:02.07] - Martin Duarte
Just staying at home, not doing anything. It was not conducive to my health. It was not being productive to society. So that's how I was able to return back to work so quickly.

[00:03:12.21] - Trevor Nealy
And now you're with this fantastic nonprofit that's headquartered right here in Omaha, and you're the program's outreach coordinator. How would you describe the mission of Wounded Warriors Family Support?

[00:03:23.14] - Martin Duarte
Well, yes, sir. Our mission is to support those who have been injured, wounded, or killed during combat operations, sir. We support their families as well. We have four legacy programs that we support. We have a Mobility's Freedom, which is a vehicle grant up to $30,000 for the purchase of a new or used vehicle. This is only for our combat veterans that lost a limb. In addition, also, anywhere between... Last year, we did 25 vehicles, 25 fully paid vehicles. To give you an example, an F-150 usually runs about $65,000. If you have a double or triple amputee, you're looking at modifications up to $30, $35, $30, $35, $1,000. You're looking at granting a vehicle of $100,000 to a combat Veteran. That's one of our legacy programs. The other legacy program is our Veterans Welding Training program. In collaboration with a UAW, Ford Motor Company. Three times a year, we're able to send 10 Veterans to Detroit, Michigan to be trained as welders. Now, keeping in perspective that the UAW does not provide the certifications, the certifications come from the American Welding Society, which is the national organization that sets the standards for North America on the welding requirements.

[00:04:41.07] - Martin Duarte
Now, just to give you an analysis cost on how much it costs for this program, just for one class, the UAW usually pays about $87,000 a year, and we dropped about $80,000 as well for transportation, hotel, miscellaneous expenses. Then, of course, the UAW pays for the training site, all the welding material they're going to utilize. They grant them also a welder's helmet, gloves, all the gear that they're going to need, they're able to keep once they graduate. They also pay for their certifications through the American Welding Society, which can run anywhere between $300 per certification or more. They also feed them breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. In our last two legacy programs we have, we have a resource program. We have a couple of resources in Orlando, Florida, where our combat Veterans, Purple Heart recipients with school-age children can go and stay down there for a week. We also provide them with tickets to the local parks, and if they don't have the means to travel, we also provide them with a stipend for traveling. Our last program that we have is a respite program, and this is only for our Veterans that have a care provider.

[00:05:57.01] - Martin Duarte
What happens when that care provider steps away from those duties due a medical condition, family emergency, or just to decompress from those duties? Who's going to pick up that portion of work? That's where our organization can come in and provide the same services. We'll hire somebody in the local economy that can provide those services like Mary Maid, prepaid meals, veterinary service for the service dogs, and so forth. Now, one of the things that with our welding program, if I could go back, one of the things that some of our veterans were bringing to our attention and keeping in perspective that our welding program starting in 2014, they wanted to start their own business. Now that they had certifications, they wanted to work for themselves. That was one of the challenges that we had in the past that they kept asking, Well, we need assistance on setting up a business, becoming an entrepreneurship. So how do we do an LLC? How do we do a business plan? How do we do cash flow? How do we do business taxes? So our CEO, ,Kate McCauley reached out to organization out of Kansas City, Missouri, by the name of Pathway Financial, which is providing those services.

[00:07:07.03] - Martin Duarte
They've been providing those services for our Veterans since over the last three years. So, it's an online class for you, which teaching them those resources on how to become entrepreneurships. The great thing about this program is at the end of the course, they're also going to be assigned to a mentor, meaning that in the near future, down the road, if they do start their own business and they get stuck on the process, they  can reach out to the company, there to their mentor, and they can walk them through the process of how to navigate that system.

[00:07:37.09] - Trevor Nealy
You mentioned a lot of partnerships with different businesses and the programs that your organization offers. How do you navigate the challenges of connecting with those businesses and other Veteran organizations to create those meaningful sponsorship agreements?

[00:07:51.03] - Martin Duarte
Well, great question, and I'm glad you asked that. One of the things that we have learned is in order to foster a partnership, you got to do continuous visits, you got to do continue outreach, and you got to continue to be involved with those organizations to build that relationship.

[00:08:09.23] - Trevor Nealy
I want to go back to one of your flagship programs that you talked about, Mobility is Freedom. That provides grants to combat wounded Veterans who have suffered from loss of limbs or spinal cord injuries. It helps them get a vehicle that's adapted to suit their needs. These vehicles are modified and they're very expensive. Dealing with the VA isn't exactly easy, and a lot of times Veterans can face denials. How did you go about establishing that program?

[00:08:37.01] - Martin Duarte
As you stated, it is a very complex system to go through the VA and get a vehicle grant approved. Now, that's a one-time grant that they receive. Depending on the year that they were injured, grants started out back in 2001, around $10,000, and now they're like $22,000. That's from the VA. And so that was one of the challenging things is trying to identify Veterans on providing those types of services. One of the challenges that we encounter, a lot of Veterans get exploited by the media, get exploited by certain organizations. And what I mean by that, I ran into a Veteran, I want to say 2021, out of Wisconsin, where he had been in parades, he had been in commercials. They had promised them that they were going to buy him a house. He was a double amputee. After three years of going through that process, the organization goes out of business, and now there's no money to be found. Another story that I can share with, we found a young captain that had been driving around his vehicle with a broomstick. Now, he was also a double amputee. The reason he had been doing that is every time he submitted for the stipend to get daptive drive equipment, he kept getting denied.

[00:09:50.01] - Martin Duarte
He was to the point and said, you know what? Every time I go there, there's a new case, there's a new provider that I got to provide paperwork, there's something, so I just figured it out. He was driving around with a broomstick. That's the impact that this program is making for our Veterans.

[00:10:04.10] - Trevor Nealy
When you said that he was driving with the broomstick, could you describe in detail more about that?

[00:10:08.22] - Martin Duarte
Yes, sir. He was using the broomstick handle to push on the accelerator and to push on the break, which was very dangerous for somebody to be driving like that because he did not have the adaptive drive equipment, the hand controls to operate the vehicle.

[00:10:22.18] - Trevor Nealy
It's so important what you guys do. It's absolutely fantastic. A lot of our listeners might be hearing about your organization for the first time and hearing about impact that you have in the Veteran community. For anyone wanting to help, how can they get in touch with the Wounded Warriors Family Support Organization?

[00:10:37.19] - Martin Duarte
Yes, sir. If they go on our website, we have a button on our website that you can donate financially. As far as services, unfortunately, because we're a very small organization, we operate out of Omaha, Nebraska, with a satellite office in San Antonio, Texas. So as far as actual volunteer work, we're really not able to utilize a whole bunch of volunteer work. But if they do like to donate, if they do see what we're doing, they can donate to the organization. Just to give you a little background, we are a four-star charity, and we've been rated four stars over the last 14, 15 years, meaning that in order to be a four-star charity, a minimum of 80% of your revenue has to go into your programs department. We have been averaging an average of 87% all the way 93%, meaning that every dollar that comes into the organization, a minimum of 87 cents goes into our programs department. As far as advertisement, we don't do a whole bunch of advertisement. Everything that we do is through social media because it doesn't cost that much. We rather utilize that funding for our programs, and we do a lot of word of mouth.

[00:11:49.10] - Martin Duarte
I do a lot of outreaches through different organizations, especially military organizations like the VFW, American Legion, Marine Corps League. That's how we get our message across.

[00:12:01.06] - Trevor Nealy
What's next for you and your role at Wounded Warriors Family Support? How do you see the organization's impact growing in the future?

[00:12:09.06] - Martin Duarte
My impact for the organization is to continue to do the things that I do right now for the organization. As far as supporting our combat veterans. Over the years, Kate McCauley took over about two, three years ago, and she has done a phenomenal job raising revenue. That was one of our biggest challenge has been, of course, revenue, because without revenue, we can't do too much for our Veterans and our families. That would be probably the biggest challenge that we have is the revenue portion.

[00:12:39.08] - Trevor Nealy
You mentioned the challenges of generating revenue. You mentioned social media being your biggest outreach tool. How do you plan to expand your social media outreach? Because that's something that's always challenging, getting eyes on what you're doing.

[00:12:53.00] - Martin Duarte
Well, one of the things that Kate has done, she hired a firm that tracks all that information, and they had came up with some different courses of action on how to maneuver that, the social media, how to maneuver the outreach. That's something that we have implemented over the last couple of months. We hope in the near future, and I know the economy right now, the way it is with everything that's going on, I hope that we have a positive return on that investment. But time will tell, and time will definitely identify our shortcomings.

[00:13:26.12] - Trevor Nealy
We've discussed a lot of the programs that you offer with Wounded Warriors Family Support. What's the greatest impact that you've seen in a Veteran you've assisted?

[00:13:35.16] - Martin Duarte
I think the biggest impact is to see a double amputee be able... Let me back up. One of the things that we take for granted as human beings It's like right now yourself, you can get up, go jump in your car and go pick up your kids, take them to school, or pick them up from school. Imagine having no legs and having no resources with a vehicle that doesn't have adaptive drive equipment that you can operate. How would that make you feel as a person, as a human being, especially somebody that you fight for this country. To be able to provide a service member with that and to see their reaction in their face that, Look, I have independability now. I'm able to do the things that average people take for granted. That's a wonderful experience to feel.

[00:14:19.21] - Trevor Nealy
As the program outreach coordinator, your primary duties are to oversee the planning and implementation of outreach strategies. Do you have any programs that you're planning to launch in the future?

[00:14:30.05] - Martin Duarte
Well, sir, we do, but the constraint is funding. One of the things that, I don't know if you're familiar, that a lot of our service members, take for example, you might have a diesel mechanic that was in the military for, hypothetically, 20 years. When he gets out of the military, do you know that he doesn't have a certificate, he doesn't have a diploma saying that he has that expertise? Even though you went through a military school, that does not transition into a certificate in the civilian sector. That's one of the challenges that, yeah, you might have done it for 20 years, you might be an expert at it, but guess what? You have no credentials. One of the things that we have always tried to look for is additional certifications. We have the welding program right now. We would like to do electrical, we'd like to do auto mechanics, trucking, but all that requires funding. A lot of companies, especially in the state that we are in our economy, a lot of companies don't want to commit and meet on us halfway. If you pay for half of the training, we'll meet you halfway and pay for the other half. But due to the constraints of funding, that has always been an issue.

[00:15:39.09] - Martin Duarte
Not only that, but it also requires more personnel on our staff, which, again, it deals back with funding. We can only do as much as we have with what we have. Having had Colonel Folsom as the previous President and CEO, again, one of the ideologies that the Marine Corps holds hard and dear to their heart is we do more with less, which that's what Wounded Warriors Family Support has been doing for the past 21, 22 years.

[00:16:10.13] - Trevor Nealy
Now it's time for the after-action review. What are three examples of great leadership and three examples of bad leadership. Now, you don't have to name names, but let's start with the good.

[00:16:20.11] - Martin Duarte
Well sir, I think one of the... I'm glad you asked this question. I was just thinking about this the other day when I got out of the Marine Corps, almost 10 years. One of the things that I enjoy about the Marine Corps was their leadership style. I'm not going to badmouth any other service. If I'm wrong, I hope somebody corrects me, but the Marine Corps is the only branch of service that allows their Junior Marines to eat first. I don't know if you have ever... The reason I recall this is, having been there, having done it, and I reflect back on a poster that I saw back in the early '90s, that was a recruiting poster that said, the strength of the wolf is the wolf pack. The strength of the wolf pack is the wolf. I think that's something the Marine Corps recognizes, that in order for the Marine Corps to get anything done, those Marines are paramount to get the job done. The ones that constantly are the ones that are going to face the most dangerous is going to be those Junior Marines. Let's be honest about it. The Marine Corps is about our youth.

[00:17:27.15] - Martin Duarte
It's about our young men and women. They're the ones that are going to have to eat first because they're the ones that are going to have to charge that hill first. That's one of the greatest things that I found about Marine Corps leadership that I have always held close to my heart that, hey, I have seen colonels in a child line fight who's senior so they can eat last. I'm like, that makes no sense to me. But this is the philosophy that the Marine Corps believes in, and this is the philosophy that was instill in me. To this day, this is the philosophy that I believe in. You asked about bad leadership. Bad leadership is for those individuals to say, hey, do as I say, not as I do. And you see it in every branch of service, there's always going to be 10% of those individuals that, for some reason, have been able to overcome certain things, have gone to that level of leadership, but have no business being leaders. And unfortunately, you will run into some, not that many, but there are those individuals out there with that perspective, that they feel that I need to be served where that's not what the service is.

[00:18:36.05] - Martin Duarte
One of the things that you learn about the Marine Corps is service before self. As you move up in in rank, as you move up in seniority, you no longer worry about yourself. You worry about those junior Marines because you're responsible for them. You've been put in charge of their welfare and their safety. That's something that you should not take lightly, and that should be your number one priority.

[00:19:03.23] - John S. Berry
Thank you for joining us today on Veteran Led, where we pursue our mission of promoting Veteran leadership in business, strengthening the veteran community, and getting veterans all of the benefits that they earned. If you know a leader who should be on the Veteran Led podcast, report to our online community by searching at Veteran Led on your favorite social channels and posting in the comments. We want to hear how your military challenges prepared you to lead your industry or community, and we will let the world know. And of course, hit subscribe and join me next time on Veteran Led.