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Haley Carter is a Marine Veteran and retired American professional soccer player who currently serves as assistant coach for the Afghanistan women’s national football team. Covered in Episode One: Value of the Veterans Crisis Line Interview with Marine Veteran Haley Carter Haley’s journey in the military. Her transition out of the Marine Corps. How she started playing soccer in National Women’s Soccer League. How Haley uses VA Basic information on VA Home Loan #VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Billie Kuchinski
VA News podcast delivers the latest updates from the Department of Veterans Affairs, focusing on essential resources, benefits, and news that matter the most to veterans. Stay informed on the support and opportunities available to you.
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products or services they may provide.
When my husband came home from Vietnam, he didn't really look into all his VA benefits.
Speaker 2:But now I've got some health issues, and I'm glad VA is there for me. To learn what benefits you may be eligible for, visit www.va.gov.
Speaker 3:Good morning, everyone. Welcome to This Week at VA. I'm your host, Timothy Lawson. This is episode 1 of our podcast. Each week, we'll be bringing you news from VA, veteran stories, guidance on navigating your VA benefits, and a veteran of the day.
Speaker 3:This week, we'll connect you with tools for suicide prevention. We will talk with marine corps veteran Haley Carter about her time in the marine corps playing professional soccer in the National Women's Soccer League and her experience using VA. We'll provide you some tips on using one of VA's most popular benefits, and then we'll wrap up with honoring a navy veteran as veteran of the day. Let's start with a great tool for suicide prevention. As many of you know, September was suicide prevention month.
Speaker 3:And even though those 30 days are over, it is important to reiterate the importance of suicide prevention. The veterans crisis line is a valuable resource when you or someone you know is in emotional crisis. The number for the veterans crisis line is 1-800-273-8255, then press 1. You can also send a text message to 838255 or go online at veteranscrisisline.net and use a confidential chat. That chat feature can also be used from a mobile device.
Speaker 3:The veterans crisis line works and I know because I personally contacted them when I had a battle buddy ex that was expressing suicidal thoughts. I used their chat service straight from my mobile phone. They worked me through it. They helped me out. They helped my friend out.
Speaker 3:Be there for our veterans, your friends, and yourself and remember this great resource. The veterans crisis line again is 1-800-273-8255. The feature interview for our first episode is with marine corps veteran Haley Carter. Haley served in the marine corps after graduating from the Naval Academy. And after getting out, she went on to play professional soccer in the National Women's Soccer League.
Speaker 3:She just finished her season, her last season unfortunately, with the Houston Dash. And Haley talks to us about her time in the military playing soccer and also about her experience with VA and the benefit she enjoys the most. Following my interview with Haley will be some guidance on that particular benefit. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:This week, our feature interview is with Marine Corps veteran and goalkeeper for the Houston dash, Haley Carter. Haley, thank you so much for taking the time to do this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Tim. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:So Haley, before we learn about you as a soccer player, you as a veteran, every veteran story starts with the same thoughts in I'm going to join the military. Bring us to that decision and why you chose the Marine Corps.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I, I watched this show on the Discovery Channel when I think I was in, like, 7th grade, and it featured basically each of the service academies. And, I remember watching it with my mom, telling my mom, I really wanna do that. I wanna go to school there. And I really like the Naval Academy.
Speaker 1:And then as I got older and, you know, I was playing college or playing high school soccer rather and club soccer, and I knew I wanted to play in college. So, I was being recruited by several different universities, but I had always had it kind of set in my mind that I wanted to go to Navy or one of these service academies, but specifically Navy. And so I reached out to the coaching staff there, and, I went to summer soccer camp because it's the easiest way to to get an opportunity to see a campus and meet with the staff and see sort of the environment, and I just loved it. And so, despite being recruited by a couple different schools, I wound up choosing, to go to navy. So I played division 1 college soccer while I was there.
Speaker 1:And it was a long 4 years, you know. The the military side of it actually wasn't that bad, but the school, you know, I don't think people realize, you know, when you're a division 1 college athlete and you're taking 20 hours a semester in season, it's no joke. So the school itself, the academic part was really rigorous, and balancing that with military responsibilities. And then on top of playing division 1 college soccer was pretty challenging. It was weird though.
Speaker 1:I found that out of season, I always had much better much worse grades than I did. And in season, when I was totally overwhelmed, my grades were much better. It was kind of weird. But and then of course, throughout my 4 years there, you were kind of exposed to a lot of different opportunities, whether you want to go surface warfare or you want to be a pilot or you want to go Marine Corps, And the various training opportunities during the summer, you get to experience that a little bit. And then you just meet officers from each of those communities throughout your time at the academy.
Speaker 1:And I got between my junior and senior year and I made the decision to participate in this program called, leatherneck. And, basically, it's a 3 week month long, summer training exercise that happens at Quantico. And it kinda simulates the basic course, which is where all Marine Corps officers kind of go after they get their commission. And it sort of levels the playing field at the 6 month school, and you learn about basic, infantry tactics and being a Marine Corps, sort of platoon commander and that sort of thing. So I did that during summer training, and I loved it.
Speaker 1:And I I decided that was what I wanted to do for service selection. So, my senior year, I I wound up, being selected to get my commission in the marine corps, and that's how it happened.
Speaker 2:That's how that happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The that program proper appropriately titled Leatherneck. I like that.
Speaker 1:Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:What did you do inside the military? I did I did some research on you, and I tried to, like, browse around. I had a hard time finding, your primary MOS.
Speaker 1:I was a logistics officer. I was in o four zero two.
Speaker 2:Okay. Yeah. And you deployed. Correct?
Speaker 1:I did. I did. I I was in Iraq twice. And then well, that was when I was, like, operational, I guess, in, like, the fleet. I was stationed out of Camp Lejeune or Lejeune as some of you guys like to refer to.
Speaker 1:I will never call it that. And I was with combat logistics battalion 8 in 2007, and we did the deployment to Fallujah. And then I was with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Forward for basically all of 2009, and we were based out of Alisade. So a year of my twenties that I will never get back. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then after that, I I went from Camp Lejeune. I spent close to 4 years there, just because of deployments and different things going on, and my MLS school is actually at Camp Johnson. And then I moved to Hawaii, and I was actually stationed at joint base Pearl Harbor Hickam. And I worked I worked for the joint prisoner of war missing in action accounting command, JPAC, which has now since been renamed. It's the, defense prisoner of war missing in action accounting agency.
Speaker 1:They, like, merged it with the civilian, program in DC. But same thing, different acronym, you know how it goes.
Speaker 2:Yes, sure. Everything and acronyms all over the place. What was one of your favorite things about the military or maybe what do you miss the most about it?
Speaker 1:I have to say I miss my Marines. I don't necessarily miss the marine corps, but I certainly miss my marines. You know, I miss being around people that are are young and motivated and really care about their job and really wanna be there. You know, that's something I think that when you transition into the civilian world, is a little bit of a shocker, you know. And the marine corps, people can't just quit.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean? And so and that's just not the kind of personality that the marine corps attracts. So, you know, I miss being around, especially junior marines, you know, kids that, it's given the opportunity and the platform to do amazing things, will do amazing things. And they always think outside the box, and they always come up with creative solutions and kind of adapt and overcome. And that sort of innovation and outside the box thinking, and delegation and like empowerment, you don't see that a lot I think in the civilian world.
Speaker 1:I think that that's something that the civilian world lacks. So, yeah, I definitely I miss my Marines for sure.
Speaker 2:You said in the military, you just can't quit. That always reminds me of a time when I was posted in Algeria. We all agreed or we all decided to go on an early morning run before breakfast, at like 5:30 in the morning, which is normal in the military. We all got there, right? There's like 4 or 5 of us with a small detachment.
Speaker 2:We all got there. We all expressed how we didn't want to go and how we just would rather go back to bed, all of us, including our detachment commander. And then after we got done griping about it, we're like, all right, well, let's go. And even with the we all could have said let's not do this and that would have been fine, but like you just don't do that. You just if you agree to do something, you do
Speaker 1:it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:What prompted your separation from the military?
Speaker 1:I actually have a son. He's, he's 4, and he'll be 5 in January. And when on my second command, in Hawaii, I he was born and, you know, I I deployed with a lot of, a lot of marines that have families and have kids, and I just thought it was really, really hard on them. And it was kind of a personal decision for me and, you know, I I the people that I think can deploy and can stay in the military with families, more power to them because it is incredibly difficult to spend time away from them. And, I think for me, it was just really important.
Speaker 1:I wanted to be around sort of for his formative years, and,
Speaker 2:and
Speaker 1:I didn't wanna have to risk going on deployment and losing that much time. And I, you know, I didn't really wanna to have to rely on other people and a support structure to help raise them and I just wanted to be there. Like I said, it was a personal decision for me and that really drove a lot of it.
Speaker 2:Yes. How was your transition now? That's a difficult time for most service members. How did you adapt?
Speaker 1:I have to say I was pretty fortunate. So I got my MBA while I was still in the Marine Corps. And so getting out with a degree from the Naval Academy and then an MBA, and it made things a little bit easier. You know? I I was fortunate enough to, transition right into employment right away.
Speaker 1:I think probably one of my biggest regrets is not taking not really maximizing my terminal leave. I think I took maybe 5 days off, and then I had 60 days built up. And I took maybe 5 days of that off, and then I rolled right into my civilian job. So I was, you know, living large with the dual income for 2 months, but, I didn't really take the opportunity, I think, to kind of relax and let my brain just kind of simmer and chill for a month. But I was I was really fortunate.
Speaker 1:You know, I I transitioned. I came from Hawaii back to Texas. It was actually kind of a a weird deal. I had applied for a position, a GS position in Hawaii, and I've been accepted for it. And they were in the middle of processing it and then the hiring freeze.
Speaker 1:There's a 1,000,000 hiring freezes, but this is in, like, October of 2012, I think, right, when they were heein' and hawing about the budget. So that came down. So I was like, well, you know, I'm not I can't afford to wait around and find a job. So, I just set to it on LinkedIn and various different, recruiters and, placement companies that specialize with, like, hiring veterans and getting veterans employed. And then, and, yeah, one thing led to another.
Speaker 1:I came back to Texas. I'm originally from Houston, and I actually moved back to Austin, and my husband's family is from Austin. So, I settled pretty nicely into support structure and and employment and, it rolled pretty well. I mean, it was stressful. I think moving it's really it's it may as well be an overseas movement coming back.
Speaker 1:But I was able to find, you know, a place to live and a school to get my son in and stuff like that. And I was kind of accustomed to having to do that from a distance just from having been in the military for so long. But I would say my transition went relatively smooth. And I was incredibly fortunate for sure.
Speaker 2:So then how do you go from that to getting into the NWSL?
Speaker 1:So I actually played, in between deployments. I played All Armed Forces soccer. I was really fortunate to have commanders that were supportive of all Marine sports and all Armed Forces sports, And they were literally, like, right after I get back from a deployment. Within a month of getting back, I would be off playing. So, yeah, I was just really fortunate with that.
Speaker 1:But so I continue playing. Played college soccer and then played all in forces soccer. And I even played semi pro in Hawaii while I was there. And there's actually really competitive soccer in Hawaii. It's crazy because it's an island and it's isolated.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't realize it. But, when I moved back to Austin I was in Austin for maybe 7 or 8 months, and then they announced the, expansion of NWSL into Houston. And, I remember going to a game in October, a Dynamo game, and somebody saying, hey. Did you hear they're talking about expanding the women's league to Houston? And, of course, I've been around and watched all of the iterations of professional women's soccer in the US from WSA to, WPS and now to NWSL.
Speaker 1:So I I was like, yeah. I'm not holding my breath. And then, like, a week later, they announced it. And so I kinda saw it grow, and they brought in Tony DeChico and then Randy Walt from Kim in, and they hired him as the head coach. And, and then they announced open tryouts.
Speaker 1:And so I thought, well, you know, I'll go to open tryouts. And I had been talking with Randy, on email and Twitter, and and he was like, yeah. You should definitely come and, you know, we look forward to having you or whatever. So I came and, I tried out the 1st day, and then I got invited back to the next day. And then I got invited into camp, and then and then one thing led to another.
Speaker 1:And 3 years later, I'm still playing with the dash. I will tell you though my I had a job in Austin. Great job. I had a lot of flexibility. I was able to work remote.
Speaker 1:It was a global position, so I supported people all over the world. But it didn't really matter where I was working out of because I was on video teleconferences and stuff like that, and it it didn't matter where I was at. So I actually would I lived with my parents for a little bit the first season, and I would drive home to see my husband and son, on the weekends. And it was crazy. And being a 30 something year old and pretty well established and having to live with your parents is cool, but it gets hold really fast.
Speaker 1:So, and so my husband said, if you wanna play again, we're moving to Houston. So I said, okay. We owned a house in Hawaii, and we sold the house in Hawaii, and we bought the house in Houston and, we moved to Houston. And I continued my job in Austin for a while and then I actually switched to a job here in Houston and continue to play, but it's made it a lot easier on my family for me to be here and playing in Houston. But
Speaker 2:For one of those house purchases, you you used a v o VA loan. Is that correct?
Speaker 1:Both. I used the VA loan for both. And so what I did was I used my I used my VA loan certificate or whatever my endorsement or whatever, to buy the house in Hawaii. And then when I moved, obviously, my my VA certification was still stuck in that home. So when I sold that house, then I was able to transfer it to the house that I, that I purchased in Houston as a primary residence.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I used the VA for everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's wonderful. Did you find that process easy to understand?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. It was actually the 3rd home I bought, using that. So when I was a second lieutenant, a little baby second lieutenant in Camp Lejeune, I had used it. And then I used it again in Hawaii and then again here.
Speaker 1:So I was kind of used to the process. And then I think the biggest piece of advice I'd give to someone that's looking to use that and then purchase a home is to go through a mortgage company that understands that process. I went through USAA for my first two purchases and then Veterans United for my most recent purchase. And both of those companies are fantastic. So I've got nothing but great things to say about those.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Wonderful. You currently also help coach the Afghanistan women's soccer team. If I read right, you are the goalkeeper coach. How did that opportunity come about?
Speaker 1:So my personal sponsor for cleats and apparel and stuff is a company called Hummel. And Hummel International, actually sponsors is the kit sponsor, so uniforms. That's soccer logo for uniforms. Is the kit sponsor for the Afghanistan Football Federation. And Hummel Sports USA, who's a subsidiary of Hummel International, told me, Haley, we've gotta connect you with this girl.
Speaker 1:Her name is Kalita Popow. She's the program director for the Afghanistan women's national team. We're getting ready to launch this new kit for them, and you, you know, spent time in the Middle East, and we really think you guys should get along well. You guys have gotta we've gotta put you in touch with each other. I reached out to Kalita, and one thing led to another, and we became best friends for life.
Speaker 1:And, I asked her if she needed any support for the Afghanistan women's national team because I knew she was trying to sort of revamp the program. And, and so I said, you know, if you need anything, any sort of help, let me know. And I'd love to reach out, you know. But anything I can do, let me know. And so she wrote back to me, and she's like, well, how serious are you about that offer?
Speaker 1:And, I said, I'm totally serious. I said, do you need a goalkeeper coach, assistant coach? What do you need? And she said, yeah. We need a goalkeeper coach and assistant coach.
Speaker 1:And, and then so it was her and I, and then we brought, Kelly Lindsey on as well as the head coach, who also played for Randy Waldrom. Actually, she graduated from Notre Dame. And the program just sort of grew from there, and I went from being the assistant coach to being, like, the lead fundraiser and finance guy and the kit guy and the logistics guy and the travel guy. And, so it's been it's been a fun and rewarding experience, but it has been exhausting, planning national team camps and especially with the team that that team, you know, many of those players live in Europe. Some of them live in Canada, a few of them actually live in Afghanistan and trying to coordinate travel and, visas and passports and all that stuff can get relatively complicated.
Speaker 1:But, and the international game is a completely different beast from like the pro club game. There's a lot of just politics and sensitivities that you have to be aware of and cultural things. So it's been really challenging, but really fun at the same time.
Speaker 2:Yes. Your understanding of physical fitness is probably the easier answer to this question. But beyond that, how do you feel like your time in the military, what have you gotten from that that you've been able to apply into your life in soccer?
Speaker 1:Oh, I think just, tenacity and endurance and mental toughness for sure. We laugh because we have a, a sports performance kind of strength and conditioning and fitness coach. His name is John DeWitt. He works for the dash. And last year was his 1st season sort of coming in and training the dash.
Speaker 1:And I remember the first training session that he came to that he ran, fitness for us. And I remember it being the first time I was like, no. This really sucks. But, I'm just gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving. And it's funny because, you know, my teammates occasionally will stress out about him coming and days that he's gonna be there and what are we gonna do.
Speaker 1:And, and I've always just sort of joked with them that I've learned that there's literally nothing that he can do to me in 45 minutes that's gonna come even remotely close to being the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And so, you know, that gives you a little bit of perspective, I think, and that sort of stuff that you don't realize it at the time. I think when you're in the military, but when you get out and you look back on it, you're like, man, I really accomplished some incredible things. But looking back on it, I I don't think I could've you know, if you just laid it out flat, I probably would've been like, there's no way I'm gonna be able to do that, but I did. And so now it's just it's like we talked about.
Speaker 1:You know, you don't quit. You know, you make a commitment to something, and that's what you do. And it doesn't matter how hard it gets or how difficult it gets. You know, you keep on charging through it. So, yeah, definitely mental toughness, I think, for sure.
Speaker 2:The NWSL, it's the National Women's Soccer League for anybody who's not familiar with that acronym. The season runs through Memorial Day, through Independence Day, through September 11. And as I'm not aware of any other veterans that are currently playing in the NWSL. So as one of the few veterans that have got an opportunity to play inside the NWSL and being that person for your club, tell me about what it's like when you get to play on those holidays or on those days of remembrance or during those weekends, military Appreciation Night, knowing that you're not only representing the NWSL, your club, but also people are looking towards you as being the representative of the military space since there is so few examples in the league. What's that experience like?
Speaker 1:I mean, you know, it's rewarding anytime you get to dress out and be a part of, a club such as the Houston DASH. That's an organization that has gone above and beyond as far as, supporting veterans and first responders even in this community in Houston. And so, you know, anytime you get to dress out for something like that, it's rewarding. I think, you know, along the holidays and, you know, we have military appreciation night on 911, and, it was that was a really good turnout. You know, I have kind of shifted in my mindset towards, you know, it's more about serving others, I think, and giving back to
Speaker 4:the community that took care of me for
Speaker 1:so long. And, you know, I think any opportunity that I have to say thank you to the people that continue to serve and to to other, veterans and service members is that I I find to be truly rewarding. You know, I like, I I was a part of that community and I mean obviously as a veteran I'm still a part of that community but, I was given so many opportunities through the military and to have an opportunity to give back to that community means a lot to me.
Speaker 2:To finish out to talk about sort of your experience with VA, we like to get feedback from our customers obviously. You said earlier that you use VA for everything. You have a disability claim with VA. You're about to use your GI Bill on law school. We'll start with the latter one of those.
Speaker 2:How did which school are you going to be attending and how did you decide on that school?
Speaker 1:So I was accepted to the University of Houston Law Center. I actually applied I took my LSAT last October and applied in the spring, was accepted, and then I deferred a year in order to coach the Afghanistan national team. So, you know, I sent an email to the dean letting her know what was going on, and immediately, she wrote back. I was like, absolutely. Deferral granted.
Speaker 1:Let me know about it next year. That sort of process, you know, I'm from Texas. Texas is my home of record, so I also get to benefit from the Hazelwood Act. You know, my education obviously was paid for through the Naval Academy, and I went above and beyond my initial active duty requirement. So when I got out, I'm actually, authorized 80% of the 911 GI Bill benefits.
Speaker 1:So between scholarship money from the University of Houston and my GI Bill and the Hazelwood Act, 100% of my law school education will be covered. I should have some Hazelwood hours left over to pass on to my son as well.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's very cool. And applying for those benefits, the GI Bill, how did you find that process?
Speaker 1:It was pretty easy. I just did it all online. I had to go to, like, 2 different websites to do it because you have to register with the Texas, veterans website as well. But I was it was really straightforward. And I got my letter my eligibility letter probably in, like, 2 weeks, to my mailbox at home.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it was pretty easy.
Speaker 2:As we mentioned, you you do have a disability claim, with VA. Is that something that you went through on your own or did you have an organization as your advocate?
Speaker 1:I actually went through that on my own. It is really awkward being a pro soccer player and receiving disability from the VA, but that's life. And I think everybody should do the process, and do the paperwork because you never really know. I mean, I would feel guilty about it, but the bottom line here is that I spent 7 years, close to 8 years in the Marine Corps and, I had health issues associated with that. So, I filed claims for disability based on my medical record and so, you know, it was kind of a long process.
Speaker 1:I I will say you have to be patient. From the time that I, filed my initial paperwork online, It was to the time that I started receiving my benefits, it was about 18 months. But, of course, the payments were, like, backdated. It was about a year maybe before I was actually assigned physicians to go in and meet with, based on the issues that had come up in my medical record. So, I mean, it's a long process.
Speaker 1:So I think the biggest the advice that I got was basically upon TAPS. You know, as I was doing my TAPS class, they said, oh, you need to get this done. And, you know, they were telling me, oh, you should get it done early, and this is the form for getting it done early. And I was so busy trying to finish, like, job hunting and all of that. I didn't even worry about it.
Speaker 1:I didn't even start it until I got out. I was I was I think I was even already off of terminal leave by the time I started it. But my biggest piece of advice is when you're taking task forces or you're getting ready to transition from active duty, to start it early. You know, start it early because the option and
Speaker 4:the ability to do it is there. You just need
Speaker 1:to look into it and then partner with someone that can help you get that done. Because the bottom line is, I wouldn't expect the VA to move that quickly on disability claims because there are a lot of claims that they have to get through and that they have to process and some are much higher priority than others. But I think, you know, as veterans and military members, if we can set ourselves up for success by starting that process as early as possible, then we should.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. Haley Carter, thank you so much for taking the time to do this, telling us about your time in the Marine Corps, your life with soccer, insight on your experience with VA, and, of course, thank you for your service to our country.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you. It's my pleasure. The words veteran and homeless should never go together.
Speaker 4:Michelle Garcia served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Richard Stokley took the skills he learned in Vietnam and put them to use as a paramedic. But when they left the service, these veterans had problems with homelessness. Homelessness is the worst thing for anybody to be involved in. If you're a veteran in need or you know a veteran who is homeless or at risk of being homeless, call toll free 877-424-3838 or visit va.gov/homeless.
Speaker 3:As Haley mentioned in in her interview, the VA home loan is a great product for veterans and their families. Information regarding home loans can be found at explore.va.gov and clicking on the home loan icon. The requirements to obtain a VA home loan are suitable credit, sufficient income, valid VA home loan certificate of eligibility, your DD 214, certification that you will occupy the home and any other document that is needed for obtaining a home loan. The The certificate of eligibility can be obtained by using your ebenefits account at ebenefits.va.gov. Let's wrap up by honoring Navy veteran, Billie Kuczynski as veteran of the day.
Speaker 3:Billie joined the Navy in 19 89 and attended recruit training in Orlando. She went on to serve as an aviation machinist mate for 4 years. She converted to the yeoman rating and served in that capacity until her retirement in 2009. Billie now works in human resources at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. She's also active in her church and a member of Women Veterans of Coastal Bend.
Speaker 3:We thank Billie for her service. If you'd like to nominate a veteran of the day, send an email to new media at va.gov that includes the veteran's name, branch, years of service, tours, notable awards, and a unique story, and be sure to attach 3 to 5 photos with at least 1 in uniform. You can search hashtag veteran of the day on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see other veterans that have received this recognition. That does it for our very first episode. I want to thank all of you for listening.
Speaker 3:I know there are a lot of options out there for entertainment. I appreciate you for spending your time with me. If you have any feedback or questions you'd like to have answered on the show, please tweet them to us using hashtag VA podcast or emailing us at new media at va.gov. Be sure to visit blogs dotva.gov for more stories from VA and to connect with us on social media.