May asked us to hold two things at once: gratitude and honesty.
Military Appreciation Month gave us the opportunity to say thank you, loudly and without reservation, to the veterans, service members, and military families who have given so much. But Mission Roll Call has never believed that gratitude alone is enough. Saying thank you means showing up, telling the truth about what veterans are still navigating long after the applause fades, and making sure their voices reach the people and places where decisions get made.
Mental Health Awareness Month gave us the space to go there. This month we explored the weight veterans carry quietly, the transitions nobody fully prepares them for, the systems that sometimes catch them and sometimes do not, and the people on both sides of that experience who are still fighting to make it better.
Memorial Day reminds us why all of it matters.
Here is what you might have missed.
Articles
- Why Military Appreciation Is More Than a Month
- When the System Is the Barrier: One Veteran’s Search for Help
- 4 Things Military Families Want You to Know About the Weight They Carry Too
- Honoring the Fallen, Strengthening the Living: How All Vets Is Building Community Through Action
- 8 Resources Every Veteran Should Have Saved in Their Phone
- For Our Most Severely Wounded Veterans, the Numbers Have Not Changed. The Costs Have.
Stories That Matter
May brought some of the most honest and human storytelling Mission Roll Call has published. From a three-part series on military transition and mental health to veterans and families who refused to let the hard parts go untold, these are the stories that stay with you.
This month we published:
- What My Therapist Wished I’d Known Before I Left the Service: A Mission Roll Call Series
- Part One: The Handoff
- Part Two: The Last to Put Himself First
- Part Three: From the Other Side of the Desk
- The Comfort Crew: Building Resilience, One Kit at a Time
- The System Says Yes but the Door Stays Closed: The Ongoing Fight of Sgt. Marlene Wolf
- My Brother Came Home From Vietnam With a Purple Heart and Still Ended Up Homeless
- Five Years to a Front Door: A Marine Veteran’s Journey to Homeownership—and the Wife Who Didn’t Live to See It
- How Veteran Benefits Ease Life After Military Service
Veteran Town Hall
On May 15, Mission Roll Call hosted its monthly town hall with special guest All Vets, an organization dedicated to building community and connection among veterans across the country. CEO Jim Whaley and COO Ray Whitaker joined the conversation alongside All Vets leadership for an honest discussion about what it takes to serve veterans not just in policy, but in practice. If you missed it, the recording is worth your time.
Save the Date: June Town Hall — Wednesday, June 10 at 12 p.m. CST
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is generating serious discussion across the veteran and medical communities, and Mission Roll Call is bringing that conversation to the town hall stage.
On June 10, COO Ray Whitaker sits down with special guest Michael Merzke to discuss HBOT, why so many veterans are seeking out emerging treatment and recovery options, and what the research and real-world results are showing. With CEO Jim Whaley on Capitol Hill advocating on behalf of veterans, Ray will lead this timely and educational conversation focused on veteran health, innovation, and community awareness.
Mark your calendar and join us live.
Register for the June Town Hall
MRC in Action
May was not just a month of stories. It was a month of showing up.
Operation Honor: Rural Salute Family Fun Day — May 16, Sanford, N.C.
Mission Roll Call was on the ground at the Operation Honor: Rural Salute Family Fun Day in Sanford, N.C., where veterans, military families, local organizations, and community members came together for a day of connection, support, and celebration. COO Ray Whitaker and Director of Communications Barry Morris worked the booth throughout the day, connecting directly with veterans and families and sharing more about how Mission Roll Call is working to ensure veteran voices continue to be heard where it matters most. A huge thank you to Michelle Lang and the entire Operation Honor: Rural Salute team for bringing this community together.
Mike Desmond Testifies Before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs — May 20
On May 20, Mission Roll Call’s Strategic Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy Mike Desmond testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on behalf of Mission Roll Call. His testimony focused on the real challenges veterans are facing today, including access to care, research delays, infrastructure gaps, and the difficulties of transitioning to civilian life. He also made the case for supporting veterans earlier, before challenges turn into crises rather than after.
Watch the Full Hearing Read the Witness Statement
Mission Roll Call in the Media
May closed with a Memorial Day media push that put CEO Jim Whaley in front of national audiences across three consecutive days. He appeared on the Brian Kilmeade Show on May 26, joined C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on May 26 to discuss veteran issues and what it means to truly honor those lost in service, and appeared live on NewsNation on May 27 for a Memorial Day segment.
Earlier in the month, MRC’s research was featured in The Center Square in a piece on VA suicide screening and in Military.com in a piece on veterans’ perceptions of VA performance amid staffing shortages.
- NewsNation: Jim on NewsNation LIVE — Memorial Day
- C-SPAN: Jim Whaley on Veterans and Memorial Day 2026
- Brian Kilmeade Show: Jim Whaley Interview
- The Center Square: VA suicide screening doubles after watchdog found mass failures
- Military.com: Survey Finds Veterans See VA Improving Despite Staffing Shortages
Research and Reports
For Our Most Severely Wounded Veterans, the Numbers Have Not Changed. The Costs Have.
The costs of caregiving and medical support have risen dramatically over the past three decades. The benefits meant to cover them largely have not. The Briley-Edmundson Act seeks to change that by updating Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for surviving spouses and Special Monthly Compensation for veterans with catastrophic injuries requiring daily care.
Mission Roll Call surveyed more than 845 veterans, caregivers, and military families on the legislation. Ninety-one percent said benefits should better reflect today’s care costs. Eighty-eight percent said it is reasonable to reevaluate benefit structures established decades ago. The message was consistent: the nation’s most severely injured veterans and surviving families should not continue falling behind because the system failed to keep pace with modern reality.
Speak Up: Your Voice Matters
The conversation does not end here. Take our latest survey and make sure your voice is part of the data shaping policy decisions for veterans and military families nationwide.
Small Gift, Big Mission
Every dollar funds the surveys, research, and advocacy that bring verified veteran voices directly to the policymakers who control healthcare, benefits, and quality of life. Because when veterans speak, Washington should listen.
Looking Ahead: June and Beyond
June brings Memorial Day in its rearview mirror and a question that does not go away when the flags come down: where do veterans go from here?
For too many, the answer is nowhere stable. Veteran homelessness remains one of the most urgent and solvable crises facing this community, and June is when Mission Roll Call is going to lean into that conversation fully. As new HUD-VA data on veteran homelessness makes its way into the public conversation, we will be here to make sure veteran voices are part of how that data gets interpreted, reported, and acted on. Housing stability is not just a roof. It is the foundation for everything else, health, mental wellness, employment, family, and a life worth coming home to.
Home is the first step. In June we are going to talk about what it takes to get there.
We will also be watching closely as the work Mike Desmond brought to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs this month continues to move. What happens in the hearing room matters. So does what happens after.
Expect more stories, more honest conversation, and more resources built for real life.
Because the mission does not end when the uniform comes off. It just looks different.