The VFW – Not Your Grandpa’s Drinking Club

Marc Garduno is the state commander of the Delaware VFW. Marc joins us on the show to talk about the benefits of being a VFW member. Many veterans from the more recent wars associate the VFW with their grandparents generation – like an old man’s drinking club. Marc tells us that nothing could be further from the truth. The VFW is also involved in a lot of important legislation that affects veterans. Everything from Agent Orange, Burn Pits, and other veteran health care needs. To expanding GI Bill benefits, and Widow’s Survivor Benefit Plans. The biggest takeaway for me though was that a lot of veterans feel like they are missing out on the community environment that they had while serving in the military. That group of like minded individuals who just “get it”. The VFW can be a resource where you can connect with other vets in your area (no matter where in the world you are living). Transcript Scott DeLuzio:    00:00    Hey everybody, this is the Drive On Podcast where we’ve talked about issues affecting veterans after they get out of the military. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio, and now let’s get on with the show. Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast today. My guest is Mark Garduno from the state of Delaware, where he’s the commander of the VFW.  He’s here today to talk a little bit about the VFW and the wide array of projects that they’re involved in that assist veterans as they transition from military to civilian life. So, Mark, thanks for joining me. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do with the VFW? Marc Garduno:    00:45    Wonderful. Thanks Scott. First of all, I’ll just thank you so much for the opportunity to be with you on your podcast. It’s really a great opportunity to showcase the Veterans of Foreign Wars and what we do in the community, what we do for veterans and their families.  I joined the military. I went into the Army in 1987 just about two months to the day after I graduated from high school. So, I’m already in boots at that point. I went to Fort Knox, Kentucky and I served in human resources field. I ended up retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 in Human Resources back in 2008. Great experience.  I don’t second guess it; I don’t regret anything. It’s made me the person who I am. A better leader, a better organizer, a person as a whole involved in the community and wanting to give back to veterans Marc Garduno:    01:37     just as the country has given to me.  I’m originally from a small town in Northern New Jersey, just outside of New York City called Richfield Park.  There, I went to Richfield Park High School and like I said, I went into the military from there. After service, I’ve settled down here in Delaware and as you mentioned before, I’m serving as the state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars here in the state of Delaware. I have three full grown children. The youngest one just graduated from college in the Spring, and I have a wonderful, supportive wife who, I don’t know who I would be or what I’d be doing without her. So that’s me in a nutshell. Scott DeLuzio:    02:20    Great. I think I can probably echo that same sort of sentiment with my wife. I don’t know really where I’d be or who I’d be without her. So, to me anyways that is something that strikes home a little bit there. So, great. So, we know a little bit about you and your background and one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about, especially with regards to the VFW and the newer era of veterans that are coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Out of those Wars is the common misconceptions that a lot of the younger veterans have about the VFW. I know, for me before I really started looking into what the VFW is all about, to me it was just one of those things that people from my grandparents’ generation would go and hang out there. Scott DeLuzio:    03:18     Kind of an old man’s clu...