WASHINGTON
— Last
year was a banner year for America’s largest combat veterans’ organization.
In
2012, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States helped 125,000 veterans
to recoup more than $3.7 billion in earned compensation and pension from the
Department of Veterans Affairs. This exceeds 2011’s record totals by 23,000 and
almost $1.7 billion, and provides further proof that all eligible veterans and
transitioning military members should seek help from an accredited service
officer before they file a VA disability claim.
“No
wounded, ill or injured veteran should ever complete the detailed 12-page VA
claims form without the professional — and free — assistance of an accredited
veterans’ service officer,” said VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton, a
Vietnam War Marine Corps rifleman and triple Purple Heart recipient. “And no
military person should ever separate or retire without first seeking assistance
from a veterans’ service officer stationed on their installation through the
Pentagon’s Benefits Delivery at Discharge program. It literally means the
difference between receiving VA benefits or not.”
The
VFW’s nationwide force of 1,200 VA-accredited service officers includes more
than 200 working inside the 57 VA regional offices, as well as advocates inside
the VA Board of Veterans Appeals, who have a win percentage that surpasses
attorney-assisted appeals. VFW’s BDD service
officers are stationed on Army Forts Bragg, Campbell, Hood, Lewis and Stewart; Marine
Corps Camps Lejeune and Pendleton; and in military-populated regions like Las
Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, Puerto Rico, and the Military District of
Washington, to include Andrews AFB, Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center, and MCB Quantico, where the VFW has a special relationship—and contact
e-mail (1Marine@vfw.org) —-with the Marine
Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment to assist previously discharged wounded, ill and
injured Marines with their VA claims or appeals.
“Healthcare
is important to every generation, and with very few exceptions, you cannot get
into the world class VA medical system without an approved claim first,” said
Hamilton. “Seeing an accredited service officer before filing a VA claim needs
to be a mandatory checklist item for every veteran and every military
Transition Assistance Program class.”
To
locate a VFW service officer nearest you, logon to http://www.vfw.org/NVS/, e-mail vfw@vfw.org, or call toll-free 1-800-VFW-1899.