Veterans United Connect

This looks so interesting. Veterans United Connect contacted me to see if I had heard about their app. I had not, so they asked if I would check it out and do a post about it. Well, I'm not good at right posts for other people, so I told them that they could write the post and I would gladly post it. I did; however, check it out. It seems really interesting. It seems like it would be extremely helpful for active members and spouses for PCS'ing and connecting with other military families. Also, as Veterans, they can find people they were stationed with or deployed with. It is easy to use once you play around with it and seems very helpful!

Here is its description:

Time and distance can make maintaining friendships – even important ones – difficult. No one knows this better than service members and military families.

The transient nature of military life means a lot of friendships and support systems interrupted. Social media sites have helped to an extent, but scouring Facebook for an old friend isn’t always an easy task, especially if the person has a generic name or a new one.

But a new, free Facebook application created explicitly to foster reconnection for service members and spouses hopes to change all of that.

The app is called Veterans United Connect. It’s integrated fully within the Facebook platform and generates friend suggestions and matches based on a shared history of military service.  

Users select the places and years they served, covering everything from boot camp to their final duty station and everything in between. They can also narrow by branch, rank, unit and other identifiers.

The app suggests matches of others who may have served during the same time and at the same place. Service members and spouses can also check out and communicate with people on individual pages for bases and installations across the globe.

“The goal is to foster even stronger ties and communication among a community that’s already given so much to our country,” said Rob Stretch, social media manager for Veterans United, the nation’s leading dedicated VA lender and sponsor of the application. “The bonds they forge can be life-long. We want to enhance their experiences during and post-service as much as possible.”

Veterans United Connect isn’t just for finding and reconnecting with old friends. The application also allows active duty service members and spouses to connect with and learn more about the communities they are about to move to.

In advance of a PCS, users can dig into a particular base’s page and ask questions and interact with personnel and families already living there. Spouses and service members can find out about school districts, local neighborhoods and base life from people already on the ground.

They can also start forging new friendships well in advance of their move, which can make the transition so much easier.

A pilot version of Veterans United Connect was launched in 2009 and attracted both a large user base and the attention of Stars & Stripes. App developers wanted more, so they spent time revamping the platform to generate even more friend suggestions and matches for users.

The improved and updated version of the app launched this week.