Bottom Line Up Front
The Military Wellness Initiative (MWi) is a digital ecosystem connecting over 26 million members across the entire modern military and Veteran community. Each year, MWi conducts its annual Veterans Day survey, gathering insights from members in all 50 states as well as select territories with a dedicated Guard/Reserve presence. This year’s survey received over two million responses—double the previous year’s participation—reflecting growing engagement and trust in MWi.
MWi’s objective is to give its members a VOICE, ensuring their priorities are understood based on geography, demographics, affiliation, and association. By integrating survey results with other curated data sources, MWi tailors its member services, including weekly articles, quarterly campaigns, and events. At its core, MWi’s mission is to foster meaningful connections between individuals and organizations to improve health and wellness outcomes across the modern military and Veteran community. The annual survey plays a pivotal role in advancing this mission by capturing real-world perspectives that drive impactful programming and policy discussions.
Mission
MWi improves health and wellness outcomes by connecting people and organizations in meaningful ways. We listen to community needs, identify patterns, measure impact, and create responsive content. Every voice matters at MWi, which drives our focus on Community, Connection, and Collaboration. Members share experiences, access resources, and support each other through web, social platforms, and email—whether they live in rural areas or major cities.
Our community includes 26 million members across all 50 states and select territories as of Q1 2025. In Q4 2024, members generated 7.75 million community interactions and viewed 79 million articles. Members access weekly content, campaigns, and events covering Sleep, Eat, Move, and Relate topics, which we design based on direct community input.
Survey Overview
The 2024 Veterans Day survey stands as one of the most extensive studies of the modern military and Veteran community, reaching 14 million individuals and collecting 2 million responses. The analytical framework integrates multiple data sources, including VA, DoD, and Census Bureau datasets, real-time community engagement metrics, historical interaction trends, and geographic and demographic data. The process employs machine learning for pattern recognition, natural language processing for feedback analysis, statistical modeling for demographic validation, and sophisticated tools for geographic and temporal trend visualization.
Key Numbers
The survey reached a total audience of 14,233,112 individuals, with active engagement from 7,458,428 people. During the survey period, MWi welcomed 1,698,804 new members to the community. Most significantly, the survey received 2,011,321 completed surveys, providing a robust dataset for analysis and action.
Methodology
MWi launched this comprehensive survey on Veterans Day 2024 to capture authentic voices from the military and Veteran community. The platform was designed with mobile-first accessibility to make participation easy for everyone. Military spouses, Veteran caregivers, and community leaders helped spread the word, transforming passive members into active participants in shaping the future of military wellness.
Select Insights
Geographic variations reveal important insights about community needs. Texas serves as an exemplar of how priorities vary by location while maintaining statistical accuracy. At the state level, 31% of respondents prioritized healthcare access. However, in Harris County, which includes Houston, 42% focused on mental health support, while in Bell County, home to Fort Hood, 38% emphasized transition services.
The survey identified three primary community concerns. Healthcare emerged as the top priority, with 478,649 members ranking it as their greatest concern. Mental health followed as the second most pressing issue, receiving priority ranking from 382,312 members. Support groups rounded out the top three concerns, with 297,252 members emphasizing their importance.
Among different community groups, family members (173,901) and friends (190,782) particularly emphasized healthcare access. Caregivers, though smaller in number at 32,065, strongly prioritized healthcare improvements, highlighting the impact of healthcare challenges on those providing direct support.
Service branch analysis revealed remarkable consistency. All branches—Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard—consistently ranked healthcare as their primary concern, regardless of active duty, reserve, or Veteran status. This uniformity suggests systemic challenges rather than branch-specific issues.
Urban areas demonstrated distinct needs patterns. Major cities showed strong demand for mental health resources and peer support systems. Despite proximity to medical facilities, healthcare accessibility remained a prominent concern in urban areas, suggesting that geographic access alone does not resolve healthcare challenges.
Multi-Scale Analysis
The MWi survey’s comprehensive approach to data collection enables Multi-Scale Analysis by simultaneously gathering insights across national, state, and local levels. This layered data collection methodology allows researchers and policymakers to identify patterns and correlations that might otherwise be missed when examining issues at only one geographic scale. By capturing concerns and opportunities at multiple levels, the survey provides a nuanced understanding of how challenges manifest differently across various jurisdictions while also revealing how local issues may aggregate into broader state or national trends.
The annual MWi survey establishes a consistent temporal baseline for tracking evolving concerns and opportunities, ensuring that decision-makers have access to current, relevant data for policy formation and resource allocation. This regular cadence of data collection is further enhanced by the survey’s real-time pulsing capability, which allows for rapid assessment of emerging issues at the state level between annual surveys. This dynamic approach to data collection means that stakeholders can respond more quickly to changing conditions and emerging challenges, while still maintaining the broader perspective provided by the annual comprehensive survey. The combination of regular annual assessment and real-time pulsing capabilities makes the MWi survey an invaluable tool for maintaining an up-to-date understanding of multi-scale challenges and opportunities across different geographic and administrative boundaries.
Content Curation
MWi transforms community voices into curated content through a data driven approach, ensuring every article, resource, and campaign directly addresses identified community needs.
Selected
When survey results and community feedback highlight specific needs, MWi first identifies existing, high-quality content that already addresses these concerns. The content team reviews trusted sources, evaluates evidence-based materials, and validates resources against the established analytical framework. The process integrates VA, DoD, and Census Bureau datasets with real-time community engagement metrics to ensure selected content aligns with current needs. This approach enables quick responses to community priorities by connecting members with proven resources that have already demonstrated effectiveness.
Co-Created
For content needs requiring more targeted solutions, MWi partners with subject matter experts and resource providers to develop customized content. These collaborations combine partner expertise with deep understanding of community needs. Using sophisticated pattern recognition tools and demographic validation models, the development process shapes content to address specific community segments. When survey data reveals unique challenges in certain geographic areas, partnerships with local providers create region-specific resources that reflect the community’s particular circumstances and available support systems.
Generated
When existing resources don’t fully address community needs, MWi generates original content using a comprehensive analytical toolkit. Machine learning algorithms identify emerging trends, while natural language processing analyzes community feedback, and statistical modeling validates content approaches. This data-driven process ensures generated content responds directly to current community priorities. The combination of historical interaction trends with real-time engagement metrics creates resources that not only address immediate needs but anticipate future concerns.
Temporal trend visualization tools track how content resonates with different community segments over time, enabling continuous refinement of the approach. Whether analyzing geographic patterns in health concerns or mapping the evolution of support needs across different service branches, the content generation process remains firmly grounded in community data and feedback. This responsive approach ensures that every piece of content serves a clear purpose in supporting members’ health and wellness journey.
Content Spotlight
Future Initiatives
MWi continues to grow through three major initiatives. The community development efforts focus on creating 54 distinct communities with real-time feedback systems. Each community receives dedicated resources and local leadership, supported by community-specific metrics to track engagement and impact. Programming is developed based on local needs and community feedback.
The leadership expansion centers on the Ambassador Program for state-level representation. The program trains community leaders in MWi resource navigation and support, creates networks within each geographic region, and establishes regular leadership forums for best practice sharing. This infrastructure ensures sustainable community growth and engagement.
The knowledge infrastructure buildout involves a comprehensive Knowledge Base for targeted insights. The system implements advanced analytics for real-time trend identification, creates customized dashboards for community leaders, and develops predictive models for emerging community needs.
As a 501(c)(3) organization, MWi ensures mission-driven operations and measures success through improved health outcomes and increased community engagement. Each initiative undergoes regular evaluation and adjustment based on community feedback and measured impact, ensuring continued alignment with the evolving needs of the military and Veteran community.
Thank you for reading MWi’s 2025 Atmospherics Product.
