Well over 200 real estate agents and mortgage professionals gathered at the Dedham Hilton on Thursday morning to attend a Certified Military Residential Boot Camp presented by Fairway Independent Mortgage.

Louise Thaxton, a Fairway manager and coach, led the program. Thaxton said she’s trained 10,000 people nationwide in the last three years.

“I’m here to give real estate agents and mortgage professionals the information they need to provide a higher standard of service to active military and former military clients – the service they deserve,” Thaxton said in a statement.

Dressed in a business suit and military boots, Thaxton spoke about military culture, which she said is crucial to understand when helping servicemen and women with one of the most important financial decisions of their lives. She encouraged real estate agents to look for ways to serve those who have served in the military.

“No one can do everything,” Thaxton said, “but everyone can do one thing.”

Thaxton said many veterans are targeted for fraud after their discharge because they tend to be young and financially inexperienced.

Thaxton said there are 23.5 million living veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, and understanding their culture, needs and specific challenges is vital to assisting them in the home-buying process. She said real estate agents and mortgage professionals need to understand how to calculate military income, GI eligibility and use military power of attorney for those deployed in distant places.

“Overnight from Afghanistan is not overnight,” Thaxton said. “It can take three to four weeks.”

Thaxton encouraged everyone to do all they could to work with veterans to help them achieve the American dream of homeownership.

“I want you all to be the ‘boots on the ground’ for our military veterans,” Thaxton said.