Jul 14, 2026 · 27 min · 13 segments
Welcome to the Front Line, our new podcast featuring conversations with veterans, service members, military and civilian leaders, and the people dedicated to serving those who served. In our…
John PippyGuest
Angela WatsonHost
right and I think the question of who are we is a really big question to ask because we are a very big department with a lot of different pieces to it I think when people think Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
So explain a little bit to a viewer who may not know, what is it that you are the head of? Explain to me how the department works.
It's a little less than 18,000 men and women who wear a uniform and serve our Commonwealth and our country.
So that is, I think, what most people anticipate when you see a person in uniform on the military side.
What's also part of my responsibility is the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, as shown by the patriotic keystone behind you.
And that is represented by almost over 3,000 civilian employees, many of whom are veterans, but not all.
six veterans homes, outreach centers and representatives and veterans service officers all across all the counties in the state.
And in that role, what we do is we have the responsibility of taking care of those six veterans homes, the roughly 11,000 or 1,150 residents.
And by the way, the residents of those veterans homes are either veterans themselves or the spouse.
And you hear these, in a lot of cases, the women tell the stories back from World War II in Korea.
And then we're also responsible for all veteran services within the Commonwealth.
And what they do is they try to take care of, you know, Pennsylvania has about 650,000 veterans in the Commonwealth.
Whether you were in the Guard or not, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is responsible for helping you get the benefits you deserve, educational programs, all those different benefits.
What differentiates us from the VA is think the VA as hospitals and veterans, you know, the statuses and those things, and we're more of the veteran services and programs, not the medical care.
And we'll be getting to all of those benefits and programs as we get through different episodes of our podcast.
right and I think the question of who are we is a really big question to ask because we are a very big department with a lot of different pieces to it I think when people think Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
So explain a little bit to a viewer who may not know, what is it that you are the head of? Explain to me how the department works.
It's a little less than 18,000 men and women who wear a uniform and serve our Commonwealth and our country.
So that is, I think, what most people anticipate when you see a person in uniform on the military side.
What's also part of my responsibility is the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, as shown by the patriotic keystone behind you.
And that is represented by almost over 3,000 civilian employees, many of whom are veterans, but not all.
six veterans homes, outreach centers and representatives and veterans service officers all across all the counties in the state.
And in that role, what we do is we have the responsibility of taking care of those six veterans homes, the roughly 11,000 or 1,150 residents.
And by the way, the residents of those veterans homes are either veterans themselves or the spouse.
And you hear these, in a lot of cases, the women tell the stories back from World War II in Korea.
And then we're also responsible for all veteran services within the Commonwealth.
And what they do is they try to take care of, you know, Pennsylvania has about 650,000 veterans in the Commonwealth.
Whether you were in the Guard or not, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is responsible for helping you get the benefits you deserve, educational programs, all those different benefits.
What differentiates us from the VA is think the VA as hospitals and veterans, you know, the statuses and those things, and we're more of the veteran services and programs, not the medical care.
And we'll be getting to all of those benefits and programs as we get through different episodes of our podcast.
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