Music INSIGHT
V
by Benjamin Nunnally
eteran homelessness is an issue that
goes nearly unseen in the United
States, but local country musician
and active-duty military serviceman Brandon Kent wants to change that with his new
album, “60/40”.
“60 percent of anything I make off of it is
going to a charity that supports homeless
veterans,” said Kent, seated in his camo
fatigues before his morning shift starts.
“That’s something that is near and dear to
my heart.”
Kent is a 16-year Army veteran, with a family tradition of military service stretching
back to World War II, up through Korea and
Vietnam and into his own deployment in
Iraq. The Texas native is still active-duty,
working with the Army Reserve as a Retention and Transition NCO, helping soldiers
find roles in the Reserve as they leave active
duty. The position affords him a very close
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look at life after the military, where veterans
face issues ranging from depression, suicide, substance abuse and a serious rate of
chronic homelessness.
According to Kent, there are 55,000 to
70,000 homeless veterans in the nation at
any one time. That number might seem
small compared to a population of more
than 318 million people, but by Kent’s reasoning, that only means there’s no excuse
to let it continue.
“They’ve done something only 1 or 2 percent of this country will ever do, and they
March 2016
INSIGHT