#MIDDLEBURY
by Freddy Groves
A former Marine has come up with a great idea: a veterans’ television network. He didn’t come by that idea the easy way; it took the suicide death of his pal to force him to realize that humor might be the only real way to combat the horrible statistics of veteran suicide.
Thus he launched a Kickstarter program for a proposed television network called Veteran Television, or VetTV.
According to the three-minute video, VetTV intends to use “humor and camaraderie to bring veterans together to heal the mental wounds of war” using authentic humor, not the kind that Hollywood produces. Some of the proposed shows sound promising: Kill, Die, Laugh; A Grunt’s Life; The Veteran Mating Game; and Gods of War. It will show the good, the bad and the ugly of military life … but with humor. The creator says he’s aiming at the post-9/11 veteran, but from what I’ve seen so far, it speaks to all veterans.
The shows will be streamed to phone, tablet or computer once a week, like Hulu or Netflix. Subscribers will vote on the shows that will be seen next.
The venture needs $250,000 to create four months of shows, with one new episode per week for each branch of the military. After the initial funding, the VetTV will be self-sustaining. Content will be for veterans, made by veterans. Subscriptions will cost only $5 per month.
VetTV has already partnered with veteran-owned businesses and nonprofits to help with Kickstarter. At this writing, it has nearly 1,000 backers and $80,000.
To view the three-minute info video, go to bit.ly/2e8EGUi, and for more information, go to veterantv.net. Click on Kickstarter to view the fundraising campaign and decide if you can send a few dollars. After all, it’s for us.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
