Gamer lounge could be new age of veteran support in Oshkosh

• Local Navy vet, Zach Zabel created Tech for Vets in 2021 to introduce veterans to technology.
• Zabel wants the space to be a gamer lounge for veterans.
• Raffle tickets are available for a VIP Packers-Bears experience to raise money for the lounge.

Zach Zabel, a U.S Navy veteran, is looking to use video games and technology for a new veteran support organization in Oshkosh.
Places like the VFW and the American Legion are spots for veterans to come together, but some younger veterans are looking for something different.

When Zach Zabel left the military after six years of U.S. Navy service and multiple deployments, he noticed the veteran support communities in Oshkosh weren’t focused on a person his age.

“The current environment in a lot of these VSOs, it's very much geared towards, you know, those 70, 80 year olds," he says.

While Zabel was a member of the VFW, he says not every veteran feels welcome at the current Veteran Service Organizations.

“There are some veterans that aren't comfortable in that space," he says. "There are some veterans that are looking for, you know, something different.”

Zabel started Tech for Vets in 2021 as a way to educate veterans on technology.

They offer scholarships for veterans to complete tech-centric, online courses.

Now, Zabel wants Tech for Vets to open a gamer lounge for veterans. The lounge would hold video games and simulators.

"You know, veterans under the age of 50 entertain themselves or interact with other veterans digitally, whether through gaming, social media, so really, just trying to make that tech-centric option for kind of that next generation," Zabel says.

Morgan Ringeisen, a Wisconsin National Guard veteran, met Zabel at the Oshkosh VFW.

They have been playing video games together for years, so Ringeisen, now the director of Tech for Vets, thought the gamer lounge would be a great idea.

“Zach and I are both gamers," he says. "We've been playing together for at least a decade now, and we kind of realized how we made that connection, it's like, why not share that with the rest of the community?”

Ringeisen hopes the lounge will over an alcohol-free space for young veterans.

“Unfortunately, most veterans, they go into a VFW, it's all the old Vietnam Desert Storm guys sitting around drinking, and that's not where a lot of veterans are these days," he says.

Zabel is currently fundraising for the idea by selling raffle tickets for a VIP Packers-Bears experience.

Five winners of the raffle will win two tickets to a Lambeau suite and two nights at Lodge Kohler.

Each ticket is $100 and he is selling 2,000. You can purchase them by reaching out to Zabel through his website .