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Dan Regester is a third generation Air Force Vet. His deployment time was the Kosovo war where he flew on C-135s doing air refuelings. Originally \u201clooking for adventure\u201d, Dan had a childhood of the Air Force, visiting the air bases with his Dad, a Vietnam Vet, many times. And because many of his Dad\u2019s friends were military, Dan was immersed in the mindset of the military person and that was the main attraction for Dan. Dan\u2019s Grandfather was in the Army Air Corps during World War II before the branch was renamed Air Force. So Dan joined right out of high school, and in fact spent his 18th birthday in basic. He went to 22 different countries during his four years of deployments, starting in Turkey. The international exposure taught him that when you are in uniform, you are an ambassador for your country and everything you do reflects on the US. So he has taken that awareness into working with Vets and dogs, because the Vet and his/her dog are representatives as well. Dan\u2019s transition to civilian life was unfortunately similar to many Vets. He hated the VA, hated society, hated the military and wanted to just be in isolation. He realized that Vets needed some time after separation to reset and acclimatize and to replace the sense of camaraderie they had in the military and caused much of the depression and loss after leaving. But camaraderie comes with discipline and work to build it, and that\u2019s where the idea of matching Vet and dog \u2013 or occasionally cat \u2013 and going through a two-week training period together to build that camaraderie that was missing. Each dog is checked out to meet each individual Vet\u2019s needs. The program is very military like in its structure, and that also helps the Vet feel more comfortable with the familiarity. And as our host, Cyntia Kao says, it\u2019s too bad you can\u2019t see these gorgeous dogs on this podcast. They are spectacular.\n\nVeteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao\n\nWe record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland.\n\nAudio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil\n\nShow logo was designed by Carolyn Main\n\nWebsite was designed by Cameron Grimes\n\nProduction assistant is Chelsea Lancaster\n\nTheme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records\n\n10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes