Veteran's Affairs Plus W/ David L. Washington

Wesley Knight 0:00
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Music 0:35
Come on, tell

Music 0:42
me what's going on. Good

Dave Washington 0:50
day Las Vegas. Good day Las Vegas. Sound like I heard Vic trying to do a little singing in the background. Here had my engineer. Wes over there, smiling. So, good. Good morning out there to Las Vegas. This is, this is Veterans Affairs plus. We're live right now. This is Veterans Affairs plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I'm Dave Washington, your host, after a few comments and well wishes for birthdays, we'll have a retired military veteran, Victor Ingram on he was on last week, as you well know, talking about the Armstrong scholarship golf event that's coming up. In fact, it'll be on this Saturday, October 4, and we're having to go a little bit more information about that. So with that, I want to say to the October folks, which I did give them a plug even last month, at the end of September, but it's birthdays for Angel, our middle daughter, Nathan, son in law, Chris, grandson, casara, granddaughter and a mirror granddaughter, and my deceased sister, who is an answer, of course, an ancestor now, Kathy Richardson and Stacy and Jaden Simmons. Those are birthdays for the month of October. So with that, I want to introduce a long time friend and a long time Las Vegas, and I want him to again share some background on himself with respect to his military service. So with that, Victor Ingram,

Victor Ingram 2:16
hello. How are you doing, sir?

Dave Washington 2:17
I am doing well. Please share with our listening audience about your military background, and we'll get a little bit more detail on some of the experiences that you had there and how it helped you to grow you as a as a professional, because I've heard nothing but good things about you, Vic in terms of your ability to get things done as a professional in the roles that you played throughout our community. So if you would do that will be greatly appreciated. Once again, Las Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. We have Victor Ingram.

Victor Ingram 2:50
I guess maybe a unique way to approach this is to talk about where I ended and then work my way backwards. Sure, I was very fortunate to retire in 2020 as a full bird colonel in the army. And what got me there was enlisting in the United States Marine Corps at 17, and for me, the military offered an escape. Came from a troubled home. No father in the home. My mother ended up getting on drugs when I was in high school, so I got a call from a recruiter. Teddy Russell was his name. I spoke his name last time we met. His name was Teddy Russell. He was a staff sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. He was a recruiter, and he propositioned me. He said, Well, hey, we'll help pay for college, we'll give you a job, we'll give you an opportunity, and we would test you with every fiber of your being. And I know what. I didn't know what he meant by that. I don't even know what the Marine Corps was, right? I just saw it as an open door to get out of a bad situation. And Dave, I recall the day that I arrived at boot camp. It was so funny. I've never been a plane before. I arrived in San Diego, California, and there was a guy at the desk. He was a Marine. He smiled. He said, Hey, are you going to be a Marine? I said, Yes. He said, Well, there's a bus outside with like, 12 or 15 of your your new friends, go hang out on the bus, and I'll be right there. I said, Sure. So I get on the bus. We're all chopping it up. We're all from different parts of the United States, and the same guy who was at the booth was the bus driver. He got on the bus, and he said so many rude things that I can't say on radio. It was just a different person. And from that point forward, it was downhill. It never got any better. The Marine Corps. It was the first major goal that I set for set for myself as a man, that I was able to achieve. We literally started with, we started with one, four people on day one, and we graduated. 66 Wow,

Dave Washington 5:17
40% 40% gone. Couldn't make it.

Victor Ingram 5:21
Oh, couldn't make it every day, waking up early, going to bed late, pushing myself physically, pushing myself emotionally. It just kind of

Dave Washington 5:31
it shaped me. And you say you actually, you signed up at 17. You signed a contract at 17, and actually went in at 1819,

Victor Ingram 5:42
yes, I went in at 18. Okay. I was on a it was called the delayed entry program. So I did four years in the Marine Corps infantry. Went all over the country in terms of my drills. I would drill here locally in Vegas, but during our summer months, we would travel all over the country and just do missions, very exciting. And then I heard about a program at UNLV called ROTC, which is an officer development program. So I enrolled in UNLV, got into ROTC and ended up getting commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army. From that point, I did about maybe nine years and the National Guard army, National Guard here in Nevada, where I was a tank I was a tank platoon commander. I was a communications officer. I was a nuclear, biological, chemical specialist, just a diverse amount of career fields and job opportunities again, part of this, part of the shaping process,

Dave Washington 6:56
right, right. Let me ask you this Vic. Let me ask you this along your way there, did you ever run into Bob Brewer? Robert Brewer, long time community member. I know he was in the National Guard, if I remember correctly, worked a long time for South Okay. All right,

Victor Ingram 7:14
yes, I know of him, but no, I never ran into him.

Dave Washington 7:19
Okay. All right, continue on, sir,

Victor Ingram 7:23
there are very few of us involved in the military at that level, right? Probably when I was in the Army National Guard here locally, out of about maybe four or 500 soldiers, maybe seven or eight black officers. Okay, yes, so I was very ill prepared for the military. And I say that just to give context to my career, I kind of floundered early on. I didn't I didn't get promoted. I wasn't someone who strive to be number one, right? I was unfamiliar with the culture, and again, was very lackluster. So in the year 2000 I ended up getting out of the military. I went what they call IRR, and that's individual ready reserves. That means that I am still on paper, but I'm not serving right. And I left with one of the worst evaluations that you can get as an officer. As an officer in the army, they give you what they call officer evaluation reports, OERs, make sure you're very familiar working in government, what your evaluation means. So my OER, on the box that said promote or do not promote, I got checked, do not promote.

Dave Washington 8:55
Wow,

Victor Ingram 8:58
and it was the guy's name was Lieutenant Colonel Alan butson, I'll never forget it. He was my supervisor at the time, and he said Lieutenant Ingram has not lived up to his potential and has served at the highest level he can potentially serve at. Do not promote to captain. Wow. So I got that evaluation, Dave. And I said, You know what? Not a big deal. I'm out of the military. I crumpled it up and I threw it in the trash. But something said, this might be a teachable moment for some for some reason, right? I went back and I put out the trash, and I just saved it. This was the year 2000 and you in 2001 Afghanistan jumped off in 2003 Iraq jumped off. So I'm at home in 2004 I got a letter. The first sentence of a letter said you're. Hereby released from an active stat status in the United States Army Reserves. That's the first sentence. The second sentence read, you are hereby activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom. So they were recalling me. I got recalled to the military after being out for after being out for four years, I got recalled. So I called the number attached to the letter. I said, After contacting the operator, the person in charge, I said, Ma'am, you've made a mistake. This is Victor Ingram. I'm out of the military. You sent this letter. You sent this letter in error. She said, Captain Ingram. They promoted me while I was out. She said, You are now Captain Ingram, and you have 45 days of report to stop to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Wow. 45 days of report. So lo and behold, I reported in and about 45 to 50 days after that point, I was downtown Baghdad with bombs coming down range and gunshots virtually every

Dave Washington 11:17
day. Wow. So So Vic. It seems as though to get that poor evaluation kind of gave you a kick in the pants and made you because you knew you obviously was a better man and had a lot more going for yourself, but getting that ticking, that kick in the teeth are in the butt, motivated you.

Victor Ingram 11:40
I'd have to pause you there, because I didn't know I was a better man. I would have to pause you there. I didn't know I was a better man, because no one ever told me I was okay. I never had anyone again. Born, raised in West Las Vegas, broken home, no father in the home. Mother on drugs. No one ever told me to look that high. Dave, right? I felt that my accomplishments up to that point were happenstance or luck, but it wasn't until 2004 where I went to combat, and everything that I had been taught was tested combat and high stress situations, they show true character. As you know, your true character is revealed. And all of a sudden, I'm in this high stress situation, and things that are things are a matter of life and death on a daily basis, and I'm excelling. I'm overachieving. And I had a boss at the time, which can make a tremendous difference in your career. I had a boss that believed in me and inspired me and let me know that I was valued and I was capable and I had potential. My job, my first deployment, I was a trainer for the Iraqi Army. I was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, and I was attached to active duty units. I was attached to Third Infantry Division and First Cavalry Division, and we would seamlessly integrate with active duty to the point where active duty didn't even know we were reservists. And these were some of the most high operational temple areas of all Iraq, in terms of a lot of kinetic activity, a lot of fighting, a lot of shooting, a lot of IEDs. So we were in the hot bed, and we were asked to train the Iraqis. We live on their base. We ate their food when they went out to fight. We went out to fight with them. It was just an incredible experience to see a nation being rebuilt after so much destruction. Wow. And to see enemies become allies in a matter of months, literally, the the some of the soldiers had been in Iraq during the first wave in 2003 and had to come back and train the same people, but they were fighting in 2004 Wow. So it was an amazing it was very surreal, very surreal.

Dave Washington 14:27
So, so when you got out, you did what? Because I know you mentioned last week who you worked for and retired here locally, because I want to, I want you to give a quick indication of that and what the military did to assist you and being a good professional. And then I want to spend a few minutes talking about family, because I think it would be a disservice to have you on this show, and I know you're a family man, so I definitely want to spend a couple of minutes with you. Kind of give me some indication of where you stand there, please.

Victor Ingram 14:59
So as. Said earlier, my career was a reserve career with a lot of active duty for combat and training and whatnot. So my civilian career, I did about 1718, years with the Nevada Gaming control board. I was a criminal investigator, where I was tasked to investigate fraud regulatory violations, organized crime, cheating scandals, you name it. So I would do that as a full time career, and I would actually be in I was in the Reserves at the same time. I worked for Nevada Gaming, and I deployed to combat three times in a matter of seven years.

Dave Washington 15:42
Wow, you're made a lot of you're married.

Victor Ingram 15:50
Children, yes. Children, yes, I have two kids.

Dave Washington 15:53
So where, when, when did the marriage come in? Were you married? Doing the deployments, etc. Was did they come later?

Victor Ingram 16:04
I was married during my last two deployments, my first deployment, I did by myself. Well, I was not married.

Victor Ingram 16:10
Well, I got married.

Dave Washington 16:12
Man, I know they put some that can put some stress on a marriage. Man, being over there, because you were actually in the theater, as they call in the in the combat zone,

Victor Ingram 16:21
yes, I was in theater. Yeah. So tour was Iraq second to Iraq third to Afghanistan.

Dave Washington 16:28
So how long have you been married, and how many children?

Victor Ingram 16:32
Again, I'm married in 2007 Yep, 2007 we have a blended family. Her name is Opal, okay, lovely Opal. We have two children. I have one son, she has one son. Family is blended, and we should have a wonderful family. My wife is very supportive of my military career. She was an incredible military

Dave Washington 16:56
spouse, Okay, excellent. And

Victor Ingram 16:59
when, when we go out to eat, she makes sure that she gets her military discount.

Dave Washington 17:05
Get all you can get. Well, that's wonderful, man. And I definitely wanted to hear something about the family side of things, because I think it's so important to to one particularly who are in leadership type roles. Man, that that work balance thing is it's no joke. You know, I love my family. They were always with me doing the good times and the bad times.

Victor Ingram 17:26
Absolutely yes. And you've been married, I'm sure, over 40 years now I'm presuming,

Dave Washington 17:32
oh yeah, we got 53 we'll be 54 next June. Wow, as they say, God willing, in the creek don't rise. So again, it's nice to know that you had that kind of support from your wife. And is she local?

Victor Ingram 17:46
She local? My wife from Texas, I have a southern woman,

Dave Washington 17:50
okay, all the way we're in Texas. What is it? Small Fort Worth, okay, big city, yeah, Fort Worth right? Well, man, I can tell you, I really appreciate you coming on and, you know, last week and then coming back this week, because I thought it was just important. And I know that a lot of times, you know, when you when you're in military, it gives you a good balance to when you come out. Generally speaking, former soldiers, they make good employees, generally speaking, not all, but most,

Victor Ingram 18:25
not all. But I want to just really quickly segue to my current career. Okay, so, as I say stated, I worked for Nevada Gaming control board as an enforcement agent, where I was tasked to take people to jail right carried a weapon. I was playing clothes, police, powers. And my second career, or my third career, is I'm now a social worker. Oh, really. So I'm at LCSW, which means that I provide therapy, trauma relief for people who are going through things. I do family therapy, individual therapy. So I say I spent the bulk of my career taking people to jail, but now I'm working to keep them out of jail.

Dave Washington 19:06
So was that additional training certificate or what have you

Victor Ingram 19:12
had to go back, get a master's in social work and do two years of interning, take my test and to be licensed as a social worker, and it's one of the proudest moments. I had been very fortunate to have numerous titles, but LCSW is one that I truly treasure.

Dave Washington 19:31
Great. Well, we appreciate you being on. And once again, why don't you give the information, even though the tournament is actually today, and just in case that there's some openings. It'll be actually starting as this show airs. But I still think it's important just to mention again, the tournament that you serve on the Board of Directors of the the Armstrong Foundation, Family Foundation,

Victor Ingram 19:53
absolutely, Alejandro golf course. Today we're having a golf. Tournament to support scholarships and community activities for West Las Vegas, predominantly, but also the Greater Las Vegas area. I really encourage anyone to come down. We're having lunch. You can buy a lunch and just meet and fellowship with the people who are just concerned about making this a better world.

Dave Washington 20:19
Absolutely, that is great once again, Las Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more, we had a retired military guy, and also locally, he is still actively involved in a work experience as a professional Victor Ingram. We appreciate you, man. You're a great role model, and I trust that a lot of young folks look up to you because of the work that you've done in our community. So may God continue to bless you, young man, thank you, brother. All right, take care. This is Veterans Affairs. Take Care Plus, for sure,

Dave Washington 20:59
once again, Las Vegas. Good day. This is Veterans Affairs. Plus I'm back in and with our commander of American Legion Post 10, Commander Jeff Jones. I asked him to come on and just kind of give an indication they just recently, they were open. They were closed for a number of months, but I've been down there twice through the commander's leadership. They did an outstanding job. So I wanted to give some feedback on it, as well as any other future activities that will be going on. Go ahead. Commander, how you doing?

Jeff Jones 21:31
I'm doing good. Dave, how are you good? Good, good.

Dave Washington 21:34
Yeah, tell us about what's going on and what you the time frame. And we can't talk dollars, but I know you just looking at the place. There's some dollars that went into there. And I know you did get some folks to contribute to the overall you can mention them. I don't think that would be an issue, but we just can't talk about dollars. So go ahead.

Jeff Jones 21:51
Commander, yeah, I just like to say I'm glad that American League post 10 is back open again after being closed for three months for renovation, I'll tell you a special thank you to Home Depot for providing us with a grant and helping us with the flooring. Members of the post, I can't name all of them, but spearheaded by our finance officer, Maurice Thomas and him and Freddie Harris, they did a lot of labor, and it's a lot of labor done by the post members and community supporters that came through. And special shout out to members of Kappa Alpha that were there basically every day, if they were there to bring in food or just doing whatever it was a project within the community, the member to itself, and again, with Home Depot, with their major contributions, we're glad to say we got a showplace

Dave Washington 22:46
now, yeah, I mean, again to our listening audience, I've been in there a couple of times since the reopening, and it's a whole new place. It appears inside. I mean, they've done a great job. So kudos to you and the team commander, because, again, it's a great job, and got all those TVs around so you can check out all the sports. It's just a very good looking facility. Now, a certain level of upgrade, as I trust, will be greatly appreciated by the membership.

Jeff Jones 23:18
Yes, it already has that and within the community, and we still have things to do, but you know, we had to get the doors back open again, right? And we just ask everybody that is a bare with us. I know, you know, some people still aren't happy. You can't do enough for some people, but you know, we are still trying to get this kitchen going. That's a big thing. But that place probably hasn't seen a facelift like that since it was actually was actually built, very, actually better in there, probably when it was built. But we got big things coming. We have this inner post visitation where we got posts coming from Southern California, Arizona, and we have 13 posts within the district to Las Vegas area, and they've been invited too. So it was a big veteran weekend, October, 17 through the 19th. We'll be going from Thursday to that Sunday night.

Dave Washington 24:15
So you say plan 17th through

Jeff Jones 24:20
what the 19th it should be that Sunday, okay?

Dave Washington 24:23
And you say you got folks coming from around the region?

Jeff Jones 24:28
Yes, this is something that goes on quarterly, some post hosted in one of the different cities, and we are fortunate enough to be the host this coming quarter. And again, the ones that haven't been here since we've opened back up again, they're going to have a shock to see what you know, what's transpired?

Dave Washington 24:50
Yeah, very, very, very well done. So in terms of recruitment, how is there any membership drive, participation or you. Thing along those lines that may come forward soon or or at least tell people what was the criteria to become a member.

Jeff Jones 25:10
The criteria, do you have served at least two years in the military, honorably discharge, and we must have a copy of your DD, 214, as far as recruitment goes, we are going to put something together. I would like to be out October 6, out at Craig ranch park, but that's our meeting day, because they have the veterans and first responder, the big event they have out there. So I need to have a sit down meeting with my members again, because we couldn't meet for three months, and I got to, you know, put the people back together. Now, you know, the building is looking great, but I got to put the people back together and, you know, regain trust in what we do as a veterans group. So that's my project now, but we will be having some membership drives for individuals that do want to come. Now that we look like we are moving in the right direction, that's, you know, people don't want to come, but they don't feel that. You know, we were at a standstill. But you know, the beautification of the post, and, like I said, we really are looking forward to getting more younger people, but because our average age is 65 and above, right, you know. But again, I appreciate everything they do, you know. But I would like to go on base and try to see if any of the active members want to become, you know, part of the American Legion, right? But that would be our best bet to

Dave Washington 26:41
do excellent. So how's the women's auxiliary going?

Jeff Jones 26:46
I hats off to miss Eileen Maurice. Her and her staff have done nothing but wonderful things, as far as putting us out there and obtaining different things for the post itself, and she says doing an outstanding job, and they support us to the fullest. I can't say nothing else but good things about them, great.

Dave Washington 27:11
And, you know, I've been encouraging people to pray for our brother, Tony Marshall, you know, outstanding brother. He liked me, and I'm in the recovery mode still for my medical situation, but praying for that brother. So we got about a minute and a half or so give us some closing remarks and things that you'd like to share with our listening audience. Come in

Jeff Jones 27:38
for those veterans you know, my hat's off. A for your service. We are open Wednesday through Monday, from one o'clock to 11 o'clock and meet some other vets that are normally there and our community members that do come through. But if you got an idea, we, like I said, we looking for new membership, new ideas, and like I say, to help people, to help us, drive us to, you know, we want to be that beacon for veterans to come and say, get the needed help they need for the benefit. Or like I say, just to come and talk to a friend. We don't want nobody out there being lonely,

Dave Washington 28:15
right, right? You know, that's a that's a valid point. You know, because when you hear these tragic stories about someone being lonely, and they've served the military in the military, and then they take themselves out, you know, through suicide, because they just get to a point where, you know, they just don't want to be alone. So that's a valid point that you're making, that you don't have to be out there alone. Well said commander. And once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. Appreciate him always coming through. And I know he's a busy man because he's in and out of town all the time serving our members. So appreciate your commander. And once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus you

Music 29:22
you all the smoke in the air, till the hate when they stare, all the pain that we bear.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai