The Top 5 Apps Developed By Veterans For Veterans

95% of all Americans own a cell phone of some kind. The number of American cell phone owners is 77%, up from just 35%. With 0.4 percent of the American population serving in the active military, there is a tremendous opportunity to develop innovation to help our military heroes. Military veterans have developed technology to help their fellow veterans find discounts, opportunities and life-saving resources nationwide. Here is a list of the top 5 apps developed by military veterans for military veterans.

1. Vets 22 App
Tech From Vets developed the Vets 22 app and features one-touch dialing to suicide hotlines, and GPS navigation to food pantries and homeless shelters. The app partnered with Florida.com to provide veterans discounts on travel, hotels, and car rentals. The Vets 22 app also connects veterans to volunteer organizations and Veteran Organizations as well as fitness facilities. The app also contains an innovative chat feature that connects our heroes with other veterans worldwide. NFL Veteran Drayton Florence along with decorated Army Veteran Jeff Shuford developed the app to help veterans transition into civilian life easier. Vets 22 has recently announced a new Virtual Chaplain feature. The company will also be launching a safety feature that will connect veterans with Fire and Police Departments. Soon after, their plan is to integrate free motivational military themed wallpapers for Vets 22 users to download. The app is only a month old and has already been featured on Forbes, The Huffington Post, NFL Network, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports, and The Jacksonville Business Journal among others. The Vets 22 app is available on Android, iPhone, Ipad, and as an HTML 5 application.

2. Scout Military App
One company that developed an app to help our heroes is the Scout Military app. With the Scout Military app, you can browse local offers and discounts nationwide. With over 30,000 downloads the Scout Military app is an asset for all military heroes. The app provides a list of discounts, as well as easy access to resources. Scout Military’s resources include Veterans Hotline, VA information, and Pets for Patriots, a program that lets veterans adopt a pet for free. Scout recently partnered with a military verification called Sheer ID, which sends a signal with the users’ information to the Department of Defense. The API then verifies the veteran’s military service.

3. Objective Zero App
The Objective Zero App seeks to eliminate veteran and military suicides by instantly connecting those in crisis to a support community. Objective Zero anonymously connects veterans-in-need to suicide prevention resources and a support community of veterans, counselors, and concerned citizens via a mobile app. The app is hoping to launch by late April and has recently raised $38,000 on Kickstarter.

4. Victor App
The VICTOR App bridges the gap between the military and veteran transition. The objective of the Victor App is to make life after service less complicated. Connecting veterans and their families with resources have directly led the innovative app to raise over $25,000 on Indiegogo through crowd funding. The goal of the Victor app is to build a network of veterans to do fun activities.

5. POS REP App
The POS Rep app was developed specifically for military veterans. The POS Rep app provides a location-based social network exclusively to the veteran community has proven successful for POS REP. The purpose is to reconnect veterans who served together; its underlying significance is to connect veterans to peers and resources. POS REP also acts as a universal mobile platform for non-profit, government and private sector organizations that support the veteran community. In the app, vets can connect with other heroes in their area using GPS technology, and can communicate and find resources.

Veterans have the power to empower other veterans through mobile technology. Translating the lessons of the military into innovative advancements can only lead to a future of life-saving tech developed by our heroes.