Veteran homelessness rarely starts with losing a home. It starts when the support system underneath someone disappears.

Veteran homelessness is more complicated than housing—and Bruce Buckley has spent more than two decades learning what it takes to create lasting stability.

In this conversation, Bruce explains how Soldier On evolved from transitional housing into a comprehensive support system serving thousands of veterans. From furnished permanent housing and mobile SSVF teams to peer support, healthcare navigation, financial literacy, and landlords willing to work alongside veterans, this episode shows what can happen when the goal isn't simply getting someone off the street—it's helping them stay there.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Recognize why homelessness often develops over years, as broken relationships, financial struggles, health challenges, pride, and the loss of a reliable support system begin stacking up.

• Understand why housing alone isn't enough and how Soldier On combines affordable housing with case management, meals, transportation, healthcare coordination, and ongoing support.

• See how mobile SSVF teams reach veterans where they are, including emergency hotel placement, landlord navigation, healthcare assistance, and peer support instead of requiring veterans to find their way through the system alone.

• Learn why Soldier On believes recovery may require multiple attempts, including Bruce's story of a veteran who has experienced repeated alcohol relapses but has retained his housing while continuing to receive treatment and support.

About Bruce Buckley:

Bruce Buckley is President and CEO of Soldier On, a nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran homelessness. Bruce is not a veteran; he is a CPA by training who became involved with Soldier On in 2002, when the organization had only a handful of employees, and eventually developed a deeply personal commitment to the veterans it serves.

Under his leadership, Soldier On has expanded its housing and support programs across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Bruce also serves as Treasurer of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

🎙️ If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.

⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction: The Fight to End Veteran Homelessness
02:23 — How Bruce Buckley Found His Mission at Soldier On
04:54 — Homelessness and the Missing Support System
06:54 — Why Veterans Can Become Vulnerable Years After Service
09:49 — How Soldier On's Housing Model Works
13:00 — From Transitional Housing to Permanent Supportive Housing
17:00 — Meals, Case Management, Transportation & Healthcare
20:42 — Who Qualifies for Soldier On Housing?
23:08 — Responding When a Veteran Needs Housing Now
23:13 — SSVF: Taking Services Directly to Veterans
27:20 — “Serve the Veteran”: The Culture Behind Soldier On
30:06 — Why Hope and Human Connection Matter
31:45 — How Veterans Can Get Help & Additional Resources
34:01 — Closing & Resources

🎧 Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network:

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Your military skills may qualify you for the job. Your people skills may determine whether you actually get it.

Meegan Kriley-Mackay knows that distinction firsthand. After watching her former spouse—a highly experienced Air Force C-17 pilot—struggle in civilian job interviews, she realized technical expertise wasn't the problem. He had the skills to do the job but needed the people skills to get the job.

That experience helped launch the Skills for Life Foundation and a methodology designed to strengthen the human intelligence veterans, military spouses, and families need to communicate, adapt, and lead beyond the uniform.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Translate your military expertise into human connection by understanding why technical qualifications alone may not carry you through a civilian interview.

• Apply the LIFE methodology—Look and Listen, Imagine, Focus, Empower—to recognize old patterns, assess what's happening now, and deliberately move toward a new goal.

• Strengthen your human intelligence by developing EQ, SQ, AQ, situational awareness, nonverbal communication, and other people skills that Meegan says can be learned and improved.

• Understand why AI makes human intelligence even more important, and why Meegan believes developing HI alongside AI will be critical for the future of leadership and work.

About Meegan Kriley-Mackay

Meegan Kriley-Mackay is a military spouse, former U.S. Department of Defense Human Intelligence Specialist, certified interrogator, author, leadership strategist, and founder of the Skills for Life Foundation. Her transition work grew from helping her former spouse, an Air Force C-17 pilot, develop the people skills he needed to successfully move into commercial aviation.

Her work now combines human intelligence, neuroscience, communication, and leadership to help transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and families prepare for life beyond the uniform.

If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.

Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network

▶ VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong

Connect with VET S.O.S.

Website: vetsospodcast.com
Twitter: @vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
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#VETSOS #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #MilitaryTransition #HumanIntelligence #VeteranCareers #LeadershipDevelopment #ArtificialIntelligence #MilitarySpouse #Podcast #Veterans #MilitaryLife

EPISODE PREMISE

AI is changing the workforce. Veterans can fear the change—or learn how to put it to work.

AI doesn't have to replace your experience—it can extend what you already know.

Ted Adair and Kris Saling break down how AI Mission Ready helps veterans, military spouses, and caregivers move beyond AI hype and build practical tools for real problems. The bigger conversation goes deeper than technology: identity after service, rebuilding structure, finding purpose, and preparing yourself for a workforce changing faster than traditional transition programs can keep up.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Learn why Kris says AI takes over tasks—not jobs—and why your experience and domain knowledge still matter when evaluating what AI produces.

• See how an 82nd Airborne veteran built an AI agent to triage community emails, prioritize issues, and turn hours of administrative work into roughly 15 minutes a day.

• Recognize why trying to copy and paste the entire military ecosystem into your first civilian job can leave you struggling with identity, structure, community, and purpose.

• Understand the AI Mission Ready model: practical training, live coaching, small "fire teams," and a requirement to finish with a functional asset—not just another certificate.

About Ted Adair & Kris Saling

Ted Adair is a fourth-generation Army combat veteran and former field artillery officer who completed two deployments, including a 14-month combat tour in Iraq. After two decades in federal consulting and growth strategy, he founded Oath & Oak to help veterans, military spouses, and caregivers build economic agency in an AI-enabled world.

Kris Saling is a people analytics and talent management expert, Director of Workforce Transformation at IBR, author of Data-Driven Talent Management, and founder of the Navigator Foundation. Her experience at the intersection of workforce transformation, data, technology, and people brings an important perspective to understanding what AI can—and cannot—do.

🎙️ If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.

🎧 Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network

▶ VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong

🔗 Connect with VET S.O.S.

Website: vetsospodcast.com
Twitter: @vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: facebook.com/vetsospodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/vetsospodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast

#VETSOS #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #ArtificialIntelligence #AIWorkforce #MilitaryTransition #VeteranEmployment #VeteranTransition #Veterans #MilitaryLife #Podcast #MilitaryCommunity #FutureOfWork