East Bay Stand Down with Barton D. Buechner

Joe Hackman interviews Barton D. Buechner a Board Member of East Bay Stand Down http://www.eastbaystanddown.org. The primary goal of EBSD is serving those who have served our nation. This years event will be held August 5-8 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds – operating 24-hours a day. Stand Down is a term used during war to describe the practice of removing combat troops from the field and taking care of their basic needs in a safe area. Barton Buechner was selected as the Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Home of California – Yountville shortly after leaving Active Duty with the US Navy in April, 2005. Recalled to duty in Washington DC from 2000 to 2005, he served as Military Assistant to the Department of Defense Inspector General and Director of Future Operations, Plans, Policy and Training for Employer Support under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. He retired from the Navy at the rank of Captain in 2008 after 30 years of service. As Deputy Director of the Veterans Home, Buechner serves as the Chief of Staff for a workforce of over 900 employees who operate the largest State-run veterans’ home in the United States. Established in 1884, the Home provides residential and licensed care for over 1,040 veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Middle East conflicts. He helped to establish the Pathway Home transition program for combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, which operates at the Home under a private grant, and is overseeing a strategic planning initiative to help prepare the entire Home for the changing needs of veterans in the coming years.