What Good Is A Benefit If No One Uses It; Free Eye Glasses for Veterans

Paying retail for prescription eyeglasses is frustrating enough. Finding out you may have qualified for VA glasses the whole time is worse. We sit down with Sean Loosen, CEO of PDS Optical and a West Point graduate with an infantry background, to explain how VA vision benefits actually work and why awareness remains the biggest barrier to better eye care for veterans.

We break down the real-world basics: VA health care enrollment, what “service-connected disability” can mean for eligibility, and why even a 10% rating may open the door to prescription eyeglasses through the VA system. We also discuss the impact of the PACT Act and burn pit exposure claims, and how a surge in new enrollments is changing demand for optometry, vision exams, and affordable eyewear. If you’ve ever assumed the VA is only for the most serious cases, this conversation challenges that mindset with practical steps and plain language. 

Sean also shares what it looks like behind the scenes: large-scale eyeglass manufacturing, Patriot Vision Centers in VA hospitals and clinics across the country, hiring veterans, and keeping “Pride, Dignity, and Service” as a real operating standard rather than a slogan. We close with a forward-looking look at AI in manufacturing automation and leadership decision-making, plus a simple nudge that can help somebody today: tell one veteran who wears glasses to ask the VA what they qualify for. 

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Transcript

Welcome And Why Vision Benefits Matter

Larry Zilliox 0:00

Good morning. I'm your host, Larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services here at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run. And this week, my guest is Sean Lucent. He's the CEO of a company called PDS Optical. And Sean is a uh West Point graduate, uh former uh Army infantry officer and and heads up PDS Optical, which is a major provider of eyeglasses for veterans through the VA system. And I was excited to have him on today so we can sort of talk a little bit about the services that they provide to veterans through the VA. And I think it's really uh something that a lot of veterans don't think about when it comes to eyeglasses and and things like that. They just don't think of going to the VA when they could qualify and and really get them at no or lower cost. So, Sean, welcome to the podcast.

Sean Loosen 0:59

Thanks so much for having me, Larry. I'm excited as well uh to be joining you here today.

Larry Zilliox 1:05

So let's begin by you're um a West Point graduate, and uh I usually start by asking my guests, uh, did you know at the time that the Air Force had an academy as well?

Sean Loosen 1:19

Ha.

West Point Roots And Army Service

Sean Loosen 1:20

I would you know what I'm listening to a couple of your podcasts there, so this question actually. Uh I was uh aware of the other academies out there, and uh, you know, I I grew up in an army family. My dad my father was uh in army, uh served in Vietnam. And so we're we lived close to uh I grew up in New Jersey, so we would go to the football games on the weekends and all of the place. So, you know, looking back, I I was always jealous because West Point has been falls, which is kind of a small, not you know, not a great town really. Um, you know, Air Force Academy has Colorado Springs there, and then West our Navy was so we were always pretty jealous of like the other and their fun towns out there.

Larry Zilliox 2:09

So well um you didn't have to spend too long there. You're an army officer, you're infantry. When when did you when did you graduate from the academy?

Sean Loosen 2:19

Yeah, I graduated in 2002. So, you know, that time we were um you know uh 9-11. Um, and so I went went in, you know, there wasn't no war really at the time. You know, there's like uh the Basia conflicts and stuff like that. Um and um it was just a different time I graduated there, graduating into war there.

Larry Zilliox 2:44

Yeah, and what was it a four or six-year enlistment? How long were you in?

Sean Loosen 2:48

Yeah, good with um W West Point and the service five-year active duty commitment, and I think you do like two years of like so you could do some guard time, which I ended up doing. Then our OTC is typically four years, even then some other different inactive time on the back end there. So I ended up doing five years and then two years in the National Guard afterwards.

Larry Zilliox 3:13

You get out and did you decide to start your own company and or were you working for somebody else and got the idea for PDS optical?

Sean Loosen 3:23

No, that was a good question. So I got out and I was having a good time in the military. It was a difficult decision to get out, ultimately decided to get out and you know, um our network, you know, of of flea of you know connections um to see uh you know, I work on Wall Street then back like in 2006 now, which probably worked out for the better with you know, given the uh prime crisis and all that, um, although

From Wall Street To PDS Optical

Sean Loosen 3:50

it worked out well. But I ended up working for a company called uh uh Fortune 500 company insurance and sales and sales leadership roles uh for years. Um but then PDS, meanwhile, his uncle, uh who actually just called me on the other scene there. Uh he's not actually not my other, he's not my belief uncle. He's uh you know my dad's best friend from Brooklyn growing up, so he's always Uncle Rich.

Larry Zilliox 4:19

Sure.

Sean Loosen 4:20

PDS uh 25 years ago, um bitting on eyeglass contracts, yeah, um and grew very smallly, a very small week. Eventually my friends solved into the company and the contracts can a little bit more. Um and then you know, they were getting the 70s at this point when it grew to a point and then they were looking at succession planning, and you know, they they station. Um I learned more and more about it. I I served a consultant role for a while just to get a feel for a little for the you know, um I I didn't have any experience in the optical industry, um, but I have experience in leadership, um, you know, running businesses, I got an MBA, and so the more and more I learned about the company, I was just impressed with everything in in in place, you know, the options, the company mission, the people, and for our nation's veterans too. So um, and here I am now, four plus years in as CEO, and it's been it's been great. You know, there's challenges obviously, but um I I enjoy deeply uh what we're doing.

Larry Zilliox 5:32

So was it a situation where you came in to sort of take it from a mom and pop operation into a larger scale, larger business? Is it was it was it that kind of situation?

Sean Loosen 5:45

Good question. You know what? I really know. Like it was so I came in and um we were we're a lot of the contracts out there. There was um there was flux with you know just trying to keep the contracts that we had. Um right now, you know, so when I stepped in, we we were in a good position market. Um and my goal was to to keep it and continue to grow. And we've been able to do both of those things there. Um has been good. And so we've we've we've we've we started off. I jumped in and you know, we've we've grown, which is what you want to do as a company, and looking for ways to um get better, uh refine the edges, bring in good talent, um, bring in good people and invest in our equipment, automate where we can, you know, because a lot of it's you know manufacturing. So we've got two options, one in Louisville, Kentucky, one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, high quality, affordable prescription eyeglasses for our nation's veterans each and every we're making over 1.6

Scaling Veteran Eyeglass Manufacturing

Sean Loosen 6:45

million um eyeglasses every single year. So wow. You do the math on that, we're doing over seven eyeglasses every day.

Larry Zilliox 6:54

Wow. So let's talk a little about what qualifies a veteran for glasses through the VA system. Do they have to well, I'm I'm assuming it has to be a service connected situation.

Sean Loosen 7:07

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, good question. You know, and and that's that's something that as uh uh stepping in, um, you know, I think you know, you you kind of in your intro too, like a lot of people don't realize about that, you know, the awareness piece there, Larry. So and it's real simple, you know, you need to be enrolled in the VA health system, right? And then have some type of service connection disability, usually around 10% disability, which unfortunately, you know, military members have some type of disability based on the the wear and tear we we put our bodies through. And you know, it's it's funny. I was listening to podcasts uh earlier this week about you know, asking one of your guests about whether or not if she's um part of if she's if she put in a claim. And you know, it that's I remember when I was getting out, um, you know, I I had that infantry mentality of like, you know, you're supposed to suck it up. Um, but my dad was like, you know, no, make sure you file, you know, all the things, the cold weather injuries that I experienced when I was in Alaska, the you know, the IED explosions that I was uh exposed to while in Iraq and all the things there that you're to drive on. Because as you get older, you know, I'm 46 and you know, things don't um operate your body-wise the same way that they did when you're in your 20s, and you think you're invincible there too. So um anyway, tangent there, I'm sorry, but yeah, um, I just wanted to share that. So so those are really the two ways be in the healthcare system and then qualify through a service connection disability of usually 10% or more. And then there's prison of war eligibility, but the service connection disability is the piece there.

Larry Zilliox 8:50

And and so if I have a service connected disability for I don't know, through my through the PACDAC claim or hearing, hearing gives you 10%. You get hearing aids. Does that then qualify me for eyeglasses at no charge through the VA?

Sean Loosen 9:07

From what I understand, that's that's how it works. Yeah. Um, and so that's how a lot of our veterans so the PACDAC piece you brought up there is is uh big because um that opened up a million plus claims for for veterans exposed to burn pit exposure. I actually wrote an op-ed for stars and stripes on it. Just, you know, you run the numbers on that. Over a million new veterans into the healthcare system, which it's which we've actually seen in the first quarter um numbers. And then, you know, one in two people wear some type of prescription eyeglasses, so there's a much higher now there. Um it's just making veterans aware of the the eligibility that they they um qualify that they've earned in um rightfully earned um through their service.

Larry Zilliox 9:57

Wow. Well, that see, I had no idea about that, and that that would mean a lot of our elderly veterans who have vision issues or have worn glasses over time, but maybe can't afford glasses today. Um if they were to source them in the community, and this gives them another option to I'm I'm I've looked at the web page, and listeners, I'm gonna give you a break today because normally it's a

Who Qualifies For VA Glasses

Larry Zilliox 10:30

nonprofit, and I'm telling you to go up in that right-hand corner and bang on that donate button. This is a for-profit company, so you're not gonna see a donate button, but you do want to get glasses from them. Uh, you can order glasses right on their webpage if they sell glasses to to, I'm assuming, anybody. Um, and then through the VA, you look, you're not gonna get, you know, Tiffany glasses, you're not gonna get designer glasses through the VA, but if you want something different, there's other options. But uh the webpage is PDSoptical.com, and you can learn about the company and see they uh also manage the Patriot Vision Centers in uh you you guys are in quite a few uh uh hospitals and clinics, right?

Sean Loosen 11:20

Correct. Yeah, we're in over we're in 40 different states, so over 120 optical uh locations throughout the the um we've got you know over 580 people working for us. And yeah, again, like it's you know, we're as a veteran myself, we're you know proud to be serving veterans. Uh we've got a great mission, and I appreciate the shout out there with the website too.

Larry Zilliox 11:44

Yeah, I I want the listeners to go and see um PDS Optical. PDS stands for for pride, dignity, and service. And and yeah, you know, when that's the backbone and the core of the mission of a company, it tells you a lot about the company and and clearly working for the VA as a provider, as a supplier, uh is not easy. And so shout out to any private company that uh decides to do business with the VA mostly because they want to deliver a service to veterans, and that's why companies put up with what they have to go through on a contracting basis and just dealing with the VA. I don't think our veterans understand that they all claim that it's really hard to deal with a VA. Well, just imagine if you were a supplier having to deal with a VA, it's pretty much probably the same as as putting in a claim. But so really check out the the web page and next time you're in the the hospital and you've got a checkup, you're going to see your primary care, or you have a hearing appointment, think about going into that Patriot Vision Center and and looking. If you wear glasses, looking to see what they've got, talk to your primary care physician there at the uh at the hospital or the clinic and ask about you know getting getting glasses. Um, if you wear glasses and you're a veteran, you definitely want to check this out. I want to I do want to make sure though that the glasses, you you guys have a number of different styles, right? You it's not just those clunky black ones that they put on you when you go through basic and then they take your picture in those things. Oh okay. So they're nicer guys.

Sean Loosen 13:38

Oh yeah, they're great. Yeah, we have great frames, different varieties, men's, women's. Uh no, I I have those uh the those those glasses too. Uh I think mine were brown, but uh uh maybe they're black in the Air Force. But no, they're all all sorts of different shapes, sizes. Um, and uh yeah, it's a great product um again for for our veterans that that have earned this this right here. So yeah.

Larry Zilliox 14:05

Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about you. You employ veterans too, right? We do, yes.

Sean Loosen 14:12

Yeah we try to you know hire as many veterans as we can. Our director of um lab operations in Kentucky is a uh Navy veteran of 20 plus years. Um, we've got many veterans working in in uh our operations.

Larry Zilliox 14:29

So, what's it like? What's the transition like for you personally going from army officer and managing soldiers to managing veterans in a in a civilian setting? What's the difference? What was it like for you to adapt to that? Good question.

Sean Loosen 14:50

Um, you know, it's the way I did it, you know, it's sort of roundabout because I worked in the you know corporate America for 15 years prior to this. So um I'll talk on that real quick and then hit this piece. But like, you know, I I remember the transition was difficult. Just I think it's a lot, you know, for a lot of people getting out, you know, making that change from the military career to um, and so that corporate America, I was in sales roles, so it's just you know, I was working with teams, sales teams, and stuff like that. And um, but I think it's you know, once you get into a good group there, it's it's like any type of environment where you're you know just trying to motivate your team and keep them um you know updated with what your goals were and communicate. Communication's always big, I always always stress over communicate. Um and then in terms of like the role, right? Like that works for anything in life, for anything. And so now in the role that I'm in now, it's just the same thing. Like I always try to stress our mission to our teams and like make sure that we're you know, we because if we get very busy, um, but if if we can make sure that we keep our mission forefront for our our employees, um, because they're those glasses that they're working on are gonna go on to go be delivered to a veteran who have served who has served um this country bravely. So um just making sure we remind our folks about like our our higher purpose and our why is something that I always like to do um as a leader.

Larry Zilliox 16:21

What what do you see is the biggest gap today between veteran eligibility and their actual receiving care and and when it comes to glasses and and eye care

Getting Veterans To Use Benefits

Larry Zilliox 16:35

is I I don't think a lot of veterans are aware of what's available to them. And I kind of throw that back on the VA and I and they they all the VA seems to be focused uh on the seriously ill and the uh the the amputees and the the the uh and you know I I get it, I understand. They there's there's a certain population of veterans that receive and need a lot of care, but there's also this segment in the middle that right that uh deserves benefits, and if they had benefits, it's a quality of life issue, and things would be much better for them. And I mean, do you see the VA getting any better at making veterans aware of this the the Iwear benefits?

Sean Loosen 17:32

That's an excellent question, Larry. I you know, I I'll share my personal. Um, so when I got out, I was in the VA health system and was, you know, going through the claims and all that, and was trying to use the VA for my primary care and all that. Um, and I found it very difficult. So I just had a bad experience. Like, you know, I had a couple doctors that kept retiring on me and I kept getting pushed around in the system. So I I and I and thankfully I had private medical insurance through my other uh company I was working at. And so I had the option to work through the private medical. Um, but then in the past, I guess, you know, like I once I really got involved into this company, past maybe five, seven years, I made an effort to get back into the VA health system, and I've noticed a change, honestly. And I'm not just saying that because I'm I work with the VA, it's it's gotten a lot better. You know, I've got uh I'm I've got a VA appointment this afternoon actually through the community care for allergies. And you know, you know, there's I there's burn pit exposure and all that stuff out there that I've seen. So like I wasn't sure if that was um connected to that from some of the things I'm dealing with. Um, but long-winded, I've I've think it's gotten a lot better, me personally. But the challenge is, you know, it's it could be you know different in each location too, because the VA spread out. I know you know Secretary Collins is doing a lot of hard work trying to make the the healthcare system better for the VA. And with a lot of the changes that they're doing, um, and I as I mentioned too, in the first quarter, enrollment in the VA is is increased significantly too. So, you know, there's a lot of veterans like myself that are um you know in that middle range there, uh, like you mentioned, that really could benefit from some of the good things out there that the VA could offer. Um, so that's my that's my um opinion on the VA. It's getting better. It's an optimistic view right there.

Larry Zilliox 19:30

Well, uh look, I I made a claim in Newark, New Jersey in 1984. And it was oh it was horrendous. I mean I uh I made a claim for hearing loss, and they sent me to a doctor. Uh I I'd tell the story really quick. I I get to the VA. I get to the VA and I they'd send me down, you gotta see the doctor, and I'm I go down this long hall, and there's a bench that stretches the whole length of the hall. You got doors that are open with little numbers above them, and and and I see these two old guys sitting there uh outside of a door, and that's the door I gotta sit at. And I I kind of land between them and I'm looking in, there's nobody in the office, and I gotta see this doctor, and the three of us are sitting there, and nobody's talking because every each of us think each other is deaf. So what's the point, you know? Um, and so this doctor comes along and he's shuffling along, and he looks like he was in the Spanish-American War. He's he's about uh he's about 95, you know. And oh wow, now the three of us are sitting there. He picks up a folder on his desk and he shouts out a name, and he shouts out the name Donnell. And of course, that's not my last name. Um, it's got to be one of these guys. And and now they're sitting there and they're not responding. And he thinks that the reason they're not none of us are responding is because we're deaf and that's why we're there. And so he starts screaming the name, and we're looking at each other like that's not me. It must be you, it's not you. Oh, I don't know. And then it dawns on me, and I get up and I go in and I grab the folder and I look at it. That's my folder. He was reading the street name that I lived on, which was Dunnell Road, and so finally he muddled some things to me and I left. And I I never made a claim until you know 30 years later when I just couldn't hear. And that was my first experience. And I never went back because I that that's what I figured it was going to be like on all levels. Um, so yeah, I it's much better today. It is much better, and it's getting better all the time. I really um I really appreciate what you guys do as a company to uh provide this service to our veterans. I know it means more to you than just make. Glasses. Um and and I really, I really think uh uh veterans need to know more about hearing aids, about glasses, um, about just primary care in general. And the more we can get enrolled into the system, the more money they get from Congress, the more it helps everybody out. So uh, you know, I I hope I hope you guys can continue with your contracts. That would be great. Thank you. One question I do have for you is what impact do you think AI will have on your business?

Sean Loosen 22:39

Oh, good question. Uh, you know, we're we are we're using AI, uh, definitely in our

AI As A Force Multiplier

Sean Loosen 22:45

company, you know, just to like, you know, I use it personally to push myself as a CEO and try to make sure I, you know, I'm not uh ignoring blind spots there. So like I'll you know, prompt it to like, hey, here's some things that I'm thinking about doing or rolling out initiatives. What are some blind spots here? And like I'll you know, push it to you know, interview, interview me and ask questions, and and so I I gain a lot of insight there. Um, you know, there actually some of our machines are using, you know, AI now in in the automation process that we're doing in the fabrication of the glasses. Um we've rolled it out within our director team, and I'm trying to encourage them to push to use it more and more to you know help them and you know in their in their their specific roles within in in their company. Um so it's we're definitely using it, but um, you know, in the manufacturing process, there's there's not sure what the right word is. You know, it's um, you know, we're not a technology company, but we are, like I mentioned, um the equipment that that we're purchasing and using and investing in is definitely leveraging the AI capabilities out there too. So question.

Larry Zilliox 23:56

Do you see it as a force multiplier?

Sean Loosen 23:58

Yeah, absolutely. You know, um for me personally, like it's it's making me become a better CEO, um, thinking about things that I would not be thinking about. Um, you know, it's you could put in it it makes things way more efficient. You can you can you know plug in um you know a contract or something that you're working through and um you know prompt it to you know get the insights out quicker versus reading a hundred-page document. Um, you know. Yeah. Um so definitely, you know, okay. Yeah. Um and I'm and I'm I'm part of a group called um YPO, young um president's organization. And we just read a book, had it on my desk here. Oh, it's right here. Uh, the AI driven leader. So there's a lot of good stuff in there that I've been pulling from too to just make me become a better leader, and I'm trying to roll that out within our company as well.

Larry Zilliox 24:47

Wow. Well, good, because I I uh look, I don't buy anything unless it has AI in it. You know, I I really I was really hard on the guy at Home Depot when I bought the mower and it didn't have AI, but um okay. I I really uh I think it's a game changer for a lot of uh organizations. I mean, as a nonprofit, we we're we're we use it. Um and I I'm certain that you're gonna find it soon in pretty much every piece of equipment that you buy uh for manufacturing. Uh so well that's that's good that's good to know.

Sean Loosen 25:25

Um I liked your uh your force multiplier comment there. That was great.

Larry Zilliox 25:30

Yeah, it it's a game changer, it is. And um and a lot of the people that I interview with the VA are uh are slow but and lear and they're a little weary of it, but um they they are adopting it, which is good. I hate to hate to see them left behind, but well, uh listen, Sean, I can't thank you enough for coming on today. Uh listeners, uh hit that webpage again. I want everybody to take a look at it. It's pdsoptical.com. Check it out. Um, if you know a veteran who wears glasses, you might know wear glasses. I've had cataract surgery. I don't wear

Final Advice And Where To Go

Larry Zilliox 26:10

glasses except for reading. Um uh every veteran you know who wears glasses, you need to tell them about it. And you need to say, look, next time you go to the clinic, next time you go to the hospital, check it out. Go down over there to, you know, okay. I know you're gonna go into the gift shop and look at, you know, all that weird stuff that they have, but don't bypass the glasses place. Uh, you're gonna get a deal in there, and you'll you might very well qualify for uh free glasses through the VA. So definitely check that out. Sean, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

Sean Loosen 26:45

Thank you so much. This was a lot of fun, Larry. I really appreciate um your questions, your thoughts, and uh it was a great conversation today. Thank you.

Larry Zilliox 26:53

Okay. Well, listeners, we'll have another episode next Monday morning at 0500. We you can find us on all the major podcast platforms. We're on YouTube and Wreaths Across America Radio. So until then, thanks for listening.