America's Defenders Deserve Their Due
This is one of several articles published in our Veterans Focus. To see all articles from the series, please visit www.afcea.org/signal/veteran.asp.
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| Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gen. Eric Shinsheki, USA (Ret.), talks to attendees at the National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo in August. The event focuses on helping veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses win federal contracts and grow their companies. |
Veterans have more than earned their benefits and now can take advantage of easier access to them through technology.
The debt that the people of the United States owe veterans not only is impossible to repay but also is unfathomable to most of the population. From the men who froze at Valley Forge to win the country freedom from tyranny, to the service members battling terrorists bent on taking down the nation today, the costs of security have always fallen on the shoulders of few. To recognize these sacrifices, service organizations, nonprofits and the federal government offer an array of programs to help veterans attend school, start businesses or build their lives in other ways. These groups stand ready to assist those who have served and are inventing new, faster ways to take advantage of their resources.
In the government, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the major agency responsible for delivering promised assistance to those who have served. Education, low-rate home loans, job placement, medical care, disability pay—all of these and more are handled through the department. And just as war and culture have changed over the years, so has the VA. In conjunction with the U.S. Defense Department, it has launched the eBenefits website and portal that shortens the time it takes to process certain claims from weeks to minutes.
For example, veterans who need their 10-point disability letter for government employment or copies of their DD-214 can print them at home instead of requesting the forms and waiting for them to arrive in the mail. In many cases, the online resources eliminate the need for veterans to visit a facility, easing burdens on those with mobility problems, those who live in rural areas or those who are simply short on time. Claimants can even make a request in the middle of the night. The most popular feature of the site allows people to check the status of their claims.
Rob Reynolds, director of the VA’s Benefits Assistance Service, says eBenefits offers a one-stop shop for applying for and learning about the resources available to veterans. They can go to the portal and update contact information so both the VA and Defense Department automatically receive the changes. “We both have all the information because the VA and the Defense Department share that information through a real-time bidirectional exchange that we have set up,” Reynolds explains.
Every quarter the site is updated with a release that includes new functionality, helping provide the most information possible to stakeholders. To ensure these updates meet the needs of the user community, officials talk with focused user-experience groups to learn what they want and how they want it offered. The VA also is taking a proactive approach to ensuring veterans receive their due by sending out emails to people when they become eligible for certain benefits. Once users sign up for an account online, the VA can provide tailored information based on the participant’s particular situation.
Though the technology offerings may seem designed for the digital-native generation serving and becoming veterans now, Reynolds says that those from the Vietnam era are some of the major users so far. He emphasizes that the VA has an obligation to serve all veterans whether they came into service yesterday or fought in World War II.
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American Legion Riders (l to r) Kenny White, Sam Langhofer and Don Behrens admire the challenge-coin collection of Sgt. Jonathan Blank, USMC, who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan. The Kansas Riders raised more than $125,000 for 23-year-old Blank and his family. (Photo by James V. Carroll) |
Members can use their smartphones to access some of the eBenefits features, including leveraging the global positioning system to find the nearest veterans or military facility. In the future, filing a claim will become simpler, as the eBenefits portal migrates to a Turbo Tax-type format. Reynolds emphasizes that veterans have earned and are entitled to all the benefits facilitated through the site, adding that the VA has an obligation to look at innovative and creative ways to seamlessly provide them access to that information.
To sign-up for an eBenefits account, veterans can visit the website and click on the register button. Reynolds says the VA is continually enhancing registration though some applicants have had problems. “It’s only difficult at the beginning,” he explains, because after that, fields can be automatically populated when veterans apply for programs. “Usually when we explain that it’s for the benefit of ensuring security and that they’re protected, they understand that.” Applicants then can have the account for the rest of their lives. Reynolds is a service-connected disabled veteran himself and says he is committed to ensuring that his fellow veterans or their beneficiaries receive what rightly belongs to them. “We’re trying to develop just another mode or outlet so service members, veterans or family members can choose how they want to interact with us,” he states.
The VA is working hand in hand with veterans service organizations (VSOs) to ensure that they can help guide the veterans who come to them for assistance. Two of the oldest, most recognized and most respected of these organizations are The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In addition to their work helping veterans navigate VA processes, they have many of their own programs, ranging from local, grass roots levels to lobbying in Congress for veterans’ rights.
The Legion is helping to make the transition from active duty to veteran easier through its Heroes to Hometowns program. In this effort, the organization identifies service members going through rehabilitation and asks them what their needs will be when they return home. Peter Gaytan, executive director of The American Legion, explains that the outreach assists veterans with issues such as navigating VA documents and processes or improving accessibility to and in their homes. This eases the transition as people realize their lives are going in new directions, he explains.
Veterans who want assistance can reach out to the Legion, but local posts also keep an eye out for returning veterans and offer help or refer them to the national level, whether veterans are disabled or not. Gaytan says anyone who served in the military during wartime and was honorably discharged can join the organization or seek out its services such as help paying a mortgage, fixing a vehicle, getting to an appointment or understanding benefits. Gaytan explains that The American Legion saves agencies like the VA millions of dollars through the organization’s volunteer hours, not to mention monetary donations.
Additional Assistance AMVETS IAVA www.iava.org (212) 982-9699 (202) 544-7692 GI Bill educational programs www.gibill.va.gov State Benefits Directory Veterans Crisis Hotline |
The ranks of veterans are growing as wars in the Middle East continue, and Gaytan says older and younger generations benefit by participating in American Legion activities. Vietnam veterans assist the ones who served more recently, promising that what happened to them when they returned years ago will not occur to those serving today.
Gaytan explains that VSOs and the VA all are working toward the same purpose: to meet the national obligation to those who wore the uniform. “The American Legion works hand in hand with others to make sure the earned benefits of America’s veterans are indeed secure,” he says.
Gaytan encourages veterans to become involved not only to guarantee their rights but also “because it benefits...those who will wear the uniform after that.” Involvement demonstrates to younger generations that there is honor in wearing the uniform of this country. Standing together, various veterans’ communities can ensure that when troops come home, they are cared for by their nation, he adds.
To engage new veterans, The American Legion is embracing electronic media. The national website is updated every few hours with information about what the organization is doing at the local and national levels. “We understand speaking the language of our younger generation,” Gaytan says. The Legion has blogs, national and local Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. But the organization is not abandoning its roots. “People might have stereotypes of old buildings or old folks in funny hats waving flags,” Gaytan states. “Well, we’re proud of our history,” which includes being instrumental in the passing of the GI Bill.
He also emphasizes the importance of the Legion in areas where there are no VA or military facilities. This especially impacts citizen soldiers. “One thing we as a nation need to realize—we now are relying more and more on our Guard and Reserve troops,” Gaytan explains. They can always turn to The American Legion for support and help, he adds.
The VFW offers many of the same services as The American Legion, but membership is limited to those who served in conflicts overseas. The criterion creates a bond among members because they share similar experiences, explains Jerry Newberry, director of communications at the VFW. This is becoming increasingly important as more troops are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and feel alone. He explains that when battle veterans meet others who can relate to their experiences, they often find it easier to transition out of the military. “They don’t feel as though there’s no one who understands what they’ve been through,” he says. It also can provide encouragement as veterans see others who have switched successfully into civilian life.
Though membership is limited, the VFW will help any veteran who comes to them, regardless of when or where they served. Veterans can reach out through the website or find a local post to ask for assistance. “There are thousands of veterans out there who have entitlements due them, and they are not taking advantage of them simply because they haven’t asked,” Newberry explains. The VFW reaches out to former military members to encourage them to talk to a service officer who could help them receive their VA benefits. The organization also offers its own help programs such as one-time financial grants for emergent needs.
Veterans who require financial assistance can contact the national office to apply for aid. Newberry encourages veterans who need anything to reach out: The VFW will find the right program and the right fit for them. If, for whatever reason, veterans fail to receive the help they need at one level of the VFW, they should try the next one, he states. Newberry adds that it can be difficult to engage people who have no trust in the system, but he hopes to educate them about available resources and how they can access assistance.
The VFW’s legislative work also is important. During the past decades it has pushed major pieces of veterans legislation through Congress. It began working on a new GI Bill even before 9/11. Newberry says that the last few years have been good with administrations mindful of passing legislation that benefits troops and veterans. But as the wars wind down, that support already is changing. Currently, the VFW actively is fighting what it calls “10 for 10” because elected officials are looking to cut 10 specific military/veterans benefits to pay for 10 years of war, meaning that those who bore the physical and mental burdens now also will pay the financial costs.
Newberry says veterans and their organizations should not be alone in this fight, and all Americans who believe veterans should receive what they have earned need to speak up. “Everyone says ‘I support the troops. I love our veterans,’” he states. “Lip service is cheap.” Instead, people can take five minutes out of a month—or even a year—to take a tangible step toward supporting these groups.
One of the biggest problems facing veterans today is unemployment. Even those who have jobs often are underemployed. The VFW sponsors a job bank called VetJobs where users can search for jobs and find other employment tools. Another organization exists to address this issue along with educational concerns. The Armed Forces Support Foundation runs the Hire a Hero, Connect a Hero and Educate a Hero programs, which use social networking technologies to help service members leaving active duty to find necessary resources. The effort began with Hire a Hero and is expanding as the other two efforts are scheduled to roll out later this year. “The idea was to get the veteran community involved and help new people coming out to mingle, talk and help each other find jobs,” Rob Barr, executive director of the Armed Forces Support Foundation, explains.
Because the veteran and military community is such a small part of the population, networking can be difficult. And many in the civilian world simply do not understand the military. Employers might even be hesitant to hire veterans because of concerns about PTSD, so part of what Barr tries to do is educate the general population.
He likens Hire a Hero to monster.com, only limited to organizations looking to hire veterans. Through a revamping of the site, veterans can enter their military job codes to help them find relevant civilian jobs. Companies with government contracts requiring a certain number of veteran employees can benefit by searching the applicant pool on the site.
The service is integrating with Facebook to help connect people through the Connect a Hero initiative. When people apply to a company, an app will search through their “friends” to find someone who works there and/or could help them land the job. Because most positions are obtained through some type of networking, this helps veterans locate the support they need. Connect a Hero also will work through Twitter to find connections.
In three to five years, Barr hopes to add social web workers who will help take veterans through the job process. These people could help disabled veterans find opportunities or assist someone who wants to become an engineer to obtain the appropriate skills and credentials. The goal is to bridge the various transition programs that troops receive upon leaving active duty to create a consistent resource. Social web workers also would institute a follow-up system to remain in contact with the veterans.
Educate a Hero will connect veterans with various types of educational institutions from technical schools to graduate programs. But beyond determining a course of study,
it also will help connect former service members to the veterans programs at the school, giving them additional resources. “Our ultimate goal is to create a better transition program for these young men and women,” Barr says.
He became involved in these initiatives after working for another veterans employment charity. “I was blown away with how unorganized and unfriendly it is to transfer from the military to civilian life,” Barr explains. “From that moment, I made it my mission to give back to the country.” He says one of the most important reasons for Hire a Hero and its spinoffs is creating continuity in the transition process and building the social capital that those who have not served already enjoy.
Current and soon-to-be veterans can begin to take advantage of the program by visiting the website, searching the resources and applying for an account. Military contractors can add a link to Hire a Hero on their site, which helps the organization gain visibility. They also can post jobs, which should be mutually beneficial as more connections are made. Since last year, the site has grown from 500,000 unique visitors to more than 3 million.
RESOURCES
Veterans Affairs
www.vba.va.gov/VBA
www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal
eBenefits customer support: (800) 983-0937
VA customer support: (800) 827-1000
List of other VA telephone numbers: https://iris.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1703
American Legion
www.legion.org
Customer service: (800) 433-3318
Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation: (202) 861-2700
VFW
www.vfw.org
www.vetjobs.com
(816) 756-3390
Hire a Hero
www.hireahero.org
www.armedforcessupportfoundation.org
info@hireahero.org
(866) 440-4424
