Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for their testimony. I know that every time we start off we always say, “Thank you for your service.” I truly want you to know that I mean that genuinely.
After hearing your testimony today and the struggles you had, Ms. Richards, I want to let you know that you turned the tables on those who may have mocked you, because you are fighting a different fight. Your advocacy means that you are fighting for those who were also mocked, ridiculed and, maybe, left out, and so you're breaking through. Your being here means something to a lot of other people, and so I'm grateful. Thank you—and I genuinely mean that.
Continually—and I'm sorry, I will get to a couple questions here—being in this chair is not always an easy thing because we hear of this disconnect between how our military, which I've been a part of, believes in a mission: the freedom of this country, and that they're serving for a purpose and a reason.... I believe in that. Everybody around this table, it doesn't matter what party they're from, believes that. The disconnect is in how we treat our veterans.
It seems to be that everybody comes to the table and we all agree, but there's this disconnect between how the government and politicians feel and how veterans are being served. There's something in the middle that seems to be lost—and it can't be a translation thing. If you've been advocating for so many years, there has to be a real, fundamental problem within the organization here, and I believe it starts from the beginning.
Mr. Bruyea, I remember leaving the military. There was a half-day seminar at which we got some sandwiches and a cup of coffee, and, “If you need our help, here's a business card,” and that was it. No one knew what they were entitled to or what they could go through. In your experience, have you experienced that and, if so, how do we make this better for veterans to access services when they leave the military?