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As military men and women go off to serve their country they're given a job and the necessary tools to execute it.
However, as civilians it can be difficult for these men and women to find the tools they need to build a life after the military.
Last year the US Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new loan program called the Patriot Express. The program is open to veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military's Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the mentioned, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service or of a service-connected disability.
Dave Brackett served his country for 30 years as an Air Force fighter pilot, but now he has found a new way to serve.
On May 23 Brackett will officially open "Pizzeria Rustica."
"My personal favorite is the Quattro Stagioni," said Brackett when asked which pizza is his favorite on the menu.
It's a business that would never have been anything more than a tasty idea had it not been for the Patriot Express Loan.
"It was essential," Brackett said. "We couldn't have opened the business without (the loan)."
Brackett describes his business as an individual concept, independently run to serve a niche market. But all the banks hear is a small non-franchise restaurant.
"Banks are very reluctant to loan to start ups particularly in the restaurant industry where there's a high failure rate," Brackett said.
Fortunately that reluctance was reduced by an 85 percent guarantee the SBA put on these new loans.
"I believe we are the first ones to get a Patriot Express loan for a restaurant," Brackett said.
"With military activations and extensions having a profound impact on entrepreneurs in the military community, SBA is committed to helping America's service men and women during the continuing War on Terror," SBA Administrator Steven Preston said in a press release. "We believe that Patriot Express, supported by SBA's other services, goes directly to the needs of these American patriots who wish to start businesses, and in the process encourages job creation and growth, an essential part of the president's economic agenda."
"Of course, we still had to go through normal loan application process--still had to put a lein on our house," Brackett said. But at least he will get the chance to taste the success or failure of his dream.
