WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 05, 2025
On Wednesday, Mike Hutchings, Chief Executive Officer of the Houston-based organization Combined Arms, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) during a hearing on how technology that connects veterans with veteran-serving organizations helps close gaps in support for transitioning service members, veterans, and their families.
As the nation’s leading technology platform transforming how veterans access care, Combined Arms was invited by the Committee to speak on how data-informed decisions and modernizing veteran-referral networks can maximize veterans’ success after service.
During his testimony, Hutchings highlighted Combined Arms’ decade-long track record in building the nation’s most effective digital infrastructure for veteran services. The Combined Arms platform—which functions as a GPS for veterans—connects users to the right local resources in hours instead of months, reducing duplicative intake processes and improving outcomes across housing, employment, mental health, and benefits navigation.
“Every year, approximately 200,000 service members leave active duty. Each faces a fragmented support system of agencies, nonprofits, and benefits programs, each with its own eligibility rules, forms, and wait times. The result is a delivery divide: help exists, but too often it cannot be accessed quickly or effectively enough to prevent a crisis,” said Mike Hutchings, CEO of Combined Arms. “Combined Arms was built on a simple premise: veterans shouldn’t have to navigate the maze alone.”
Combined Arms has served more than 100,000 veterans, service members, and military family members, generated more than $603 million in economic impact across the communities it serves, and built the nation’s largest coordinated network of 300+ vetted partner organizations through a single, integrated platform.
“Combined Arms demonstrates that when technology, data, and compassion work together, we can close the delivery divide and ensure every veteran and family transitions with dignity, stability, and opportunity,” Hutchings added.
In addition to Combined Arms, lawmakers heard from nonprofit, academic, and private-sector leaders who are transforming the veteran transition experience through data-driven, collaborative approaches.
Other witnesses included:
(As delivered to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs)
“Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Blumenthal, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. I'm Mike Hutchings, and I serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Combined Arms, a veteran founded and veteran led nonprofit, dedicated to transforming how America supports those who have served.
Each year, about 200,000 service members transition from military to civilian life. Behind that number are families. There are parents, spouses, children who often find themselves navigating a maze of agencies and organizations that were never efficiently designed to work together.
Veterans may face longer wait times, repetitive paperwork, and a lack of coordination that too often may leave them vulnerable. 10 years ago, almost to this day, Combined Arms was created to change that. We have built a technology platform that acts as a GPS for Veteran services, connecting veterans service members and their families to the right local resources in hours instead of months.
We do not replace government systems. We compliment them by integrating federal, state, and community partners to close what we call the delivery divide. Today our network includes more than 300 vetted partner organizations operating in all 50 states. Together we have connected over a 100,000 veterans and families to critical support, and coordinated more than 175,000 referrals for things such as housing, employment, mental healthcare, and financial assistance.
These connections have generated over an estimated $603 million in taxpayer savings and economic impact, while reducing the average wait time for help to just 26 hours across the nation. Our work has been recognized by the Milken Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, as a national program of record for veteran transition and reintegration. A bipartisan acknowledgement that coordinated data-driven solutions can and should be scaled nationwide.
But we also recognize the challenge and oversaturated and hyper fragmented landscape with nearly 45,000 nonprofits in the veteran services space. Thousands of organizations want to help but duplication slows progress. Combined Arms cuts through the noise, Veterans complete one intake. They tell their story once and they receive access to multiple services quickly. Our partners are held accountable for timely responses and outcome reporting, ensuring closed loop results instead of open-ended referrals.
Across Texas and beyond, combined Arms has become a vital conduit connecting veterans and their families to life-changing regional, state and federal resources, a proven model with more than a hundred thousand success stories. So let me share a few.
A U.S. Army sergeant who was referred to NextOp and found civilian employment in just 15 days. A mother of three, new to Houston, found stability through our network, receiving housing support, food and financial education through Family Houston and other partners. And a Vietnam War veteran, once homeless found dignity and belonging after being placed in a Texas State veteran's home, through coordinated action with our state partners.
Even small moments show the power of collaboration. Like the day a VA psychologist reached out to us for help and a veteran in crisis was connected to the Baker Ripley for housing within hours, while that federal provider discovered new local resources to help others.
These stories aren't exceptions. They represent a nationally replicable model of coordinated care when local, state, and federal partners share information and act together, veterans are met with dignity, stability, and hope not barriers and delay.
Our veterans are not liabilities. They're leaders and they're civic assets who vote, volunteer and build communities at higher rates than the general public. When we invest in their successful transition, we strengthen our workforce, we strengthen our neighborhoods, and we strengthen our nation.
The covenant between our government and veterans is sacred, but it cannot stand alone. Federal systems are vital, but they cannot meet every need. Civil society must play a role. Take for example the Bush Institute, our partners at this table who alongside IVMF, Combined Arms, Wounded Warrior Project and a mixture of best-in-class nonprofits healthcare institutions and federal agencies have built a connective tissue network for veterans and their families to seek care. No one organization can do this alone.
Combined Arms shows that when innovation, data and compassion come together, we can deliver real results faster, smarter, and more human. Our organization stands ready to work with this committee, the VA and partners at every level of government on bipartisan data-driven solutions that strengthen the continuum of care for all that all those who have served.
Thank you for the privilege to speak here today. It has been an absolute honor and privilege. I look forward to your questions.”
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Combined Arms (CA) is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to transforming the way veterans and military families connect with vetted resources needed to thrive. Through innovative technology and data sophistication, the Combined Arms platform unites top-tier veteran service organizations, state and federal agencies, and communities with data-fueled insights. This optimizes connection to resources and drives network-wide efficiencies and transparency, ultimately improving the quality of life for veterans and military families so they can thrive.
For more information, visit CombinedArms.us.
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