Tuesday, March 26, 2024

What Is The Veterans Administration

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What Is Va Mission

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Our VA Mission and Core Values Our mission, as the Department of Veterans Affairs, is to care for those who shall have borne the battle and for their families, caregivers and survivors. Our core values focus our minds on our mission of caring and thereby guide our actions toward service to others.

What rights we enjoy that veterans protect?

The right to choose our own government through elections, freedom of speech, religion and assembly, the right to dissent, even the right to choose not to become a veteran, is possible because Americas veterans have and continue to stand ready to protect and preserve those rights.

What is the history of the US Department of Veterans Affairs?

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: A History The United States has the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans of any nation in the world. This benefits system traces its roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians.

Who Qualifies As A Veteran For Compensation Pension And Benefits

Most people understand that those who served in the military are veterans.

But what they actually need to know is what type of veteran status qualifies them for various benefits, such as Tricare or pension benefits.

References:

  • Definition of the Term Veteran For purposes of compensation, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation , and death pension, see38 CFR 3.1, and Paulson v. Brown, 7 Vet.App. 466, 470 , and
  • Groups approved for Veteran status under Public Law Please see 95-202 and 106-259, at the following link, M21-1, Part III, Subpart iii, 2.K.3.
  • Veterans Pensions We also have an article explaining who qualifies for a pension.

Current Va Regional Office Status

All VBA regional offices are open and offering in-person public facing services for Veterans and their families. In addition to in-person services, VBA continues to offer both online and phone services for your convenience.

Visit each of the website below to learn more about their operating hours and services.

Veterans can continue to get information about benefits or file a claim for benefits by visiting our website at www.va.gov. Veterans with claims specific or other questions may request information via Ask.VA.gov | Veteran Affairs or telephone at 1-800-827-1000.

Please continue to check www.va.gov for updates. You also may follow us on and .

The map and by state index below provide links to VA regional offices, an email address for contacting the regional office director and a listing of additional VA facilities located in each state. Visit your regional office website to learn about the services the regional office provides, directions to the facility, hours of operation, and the leadership team that serves the regional office.

State & Territory Index

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Return To Private Life

In 2017, McDonough joined the , a nonprofit that aims to “transform America’s outdated labor market to reflect the needs of the digital economy”, boost employment opportunities, and expand job training for Americans. As a senior principal, he worked to grow the organization nationwide and broaden its work with governments such as the state of , public institutions such as , and private companies such as .

McDonough is a professor of the practice at ‘s Keough School of Global Affairs and a visiting senior fellow in ‘s Technology and International Affairs Program.

What Is The History Of Veterans Day

Caring For Today

History of Veterans Day. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the countrys service and with gratitude for the victory,

When did the government start giving benefits to veterans?

In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the Federal Government. In the 19th century, the Nations veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans, but also their widows and dependents.

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Acting Deputy Commissioner For Veterans Affairs

Colonel Walter R. Nall

Walter R. Nall serves as the acting Deputy Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

In January 2018, he was appointed Director of Veterans Services following his assignment as superintendent of the Veterans Haven South Transitional Housing Program for homeless Veterans located in Winslow Township.

Nall began his military career in 1983 when he enlisted as a private in the Alabama Army National Guard. Upon completing Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as a Field Artillery Second Lieutenant in June 1986. Nall served in Operation Iraqi Freedom III with the 42nd Division Support Command in 2005 and in Afghanistan with Special Operations Command in 2011. He retired as a Colonel from the New Jersey Army National Guard after more than 35 years of service.

Nall holds a Bachelors degree in criminal justice from Troy State University and a Masters of Science degree in management from Liberty University.

Nall is very active with community and fraternal organizations. He is a lifetime member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated and served as the Basileus of the Delta Upsilon Chapter in Trenton. In addition, Nall is a member of other organizations to include: Veterans of Foreign Wars , American Legion, Prince Hall Affiliated 32nd Degree Masons, and the Omega Delta Upsilon Foundation.

Reducing The Veteran Suicide Rate

Secretary McDonough should take steps to reduce the risk of suicide among veteransand make the public aware of this problem. Over the past decade, more than 60,000 veterans died by suicide, and 20 veterans die by suicide each day. Between 2005 and 2017, nearly 79,000 veterans killed themselves, more than the total number of troops who have died in the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined .19 During his presidential campaign, Biden promised20 that within his first 200 days in office, he would publish a comprehensive public health and crisis sector approach to address suicide among veterans, service members, and their families. Secretary McDonough must work with President Biden on this plan and promptly implement its recommendations.

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What Was The Veterans Administration

The term Veterans Administration refers to the previous name of a U.S. Cabinet-level department. Founded at the height of the Great Depression, the Veterans Administration was formerly an independent government agency. It was elevated to a cabinet department in 1989 and underwent a change in title to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The organization provided and continues to provide medical care, benefits, and essential services to veterans of the U.S. armed forces and their families.

Rebuilding The Departments Infrastructure And Staffing

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In his upcoming budget request, Secretary McDonough must put aside funding specifically for beginning to fill the departments 50,000 empty positions and addressing the departments aging infrastructure, which has been in place for an average of 58 years.35 Additionally, when the secretary appoints his leadership team, he must ensure that his choices reflect the diversity that exists within the active-duty and veteran community.

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Prioritizing The Women And Lgbtq People Who Serve In The Military

The VA must also prioritize providing women and LGBTQ service members equal access to earned benefits, as well as ending sexual harassment against them. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population. Since 2000, the number of women in the military has grown from 63,000 to 473,000an increase of 310,000, or almost 300 percent25and the number of women using VA health care has also tripled since then, growing from 160,000 to 475,000.26 Women now represent 16 percent of the current U.S. military force. LGBT personnel, meanwhile, are estimated to make up 6.1 percent27 of service members. A 2020 GAO report28 found that the VAs inconsistent collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data has limited its ability to assess health outcomes for LGBT veterans.

Despite all the indispensable services that women in uniform deliver to America, a great deal of those women have been subject to sexual assault,29 and many have chosen not to reenlist30 as a result. In April 2021, the VA took a step31 in the right direction to improve care for women and LGBTQ veterans, as well as the approximately 25 percent of veterans who are people of color, by committing to review its existing policies with an eye toward making them more inclusiveand designing and implementing more inclusive policies going forward.

Addressing The Ballooning Va Budget

The VA budget has grown rapidly and significantly5 since 9/11. In FY 2001, its budget was $40 billion by 2009, President Barack Obamas first year in office and before the full impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was felt, it had risen to $94 billion. The FY 2021 budget that Congress passed in December 2020 allocated a whopping $243 billion to the VAan increase of more than $200 billion, or 500 percent, since 9/11. From FY 2020 to FY 2021 alone, the VA budget increased by 14 percent, an increase higher than that of any other federal agency. As a result, the VA now has the second-largest discretionary budget in the federal government, trailing only the Pentagon. Its budget is greater than the combined budgets of the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Justice, and the entire intelligence community.6

This rapid increase is a result of several factors, including the large cohort of aging Vietnam War veterans and the increase in veterans from all generations using the VA for health care, especially the 4.1 million post-9/11 veterans.10 It is also due to the increasing cost of health care in the United States, the introduction of federal programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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How Do I Get Help If I’m Homeless Or At Risk Of Becoming Homeless

We offer many programs and services that may helpincluding free health care and, in some cases, free limited dental care. We can also help you connect with resources in your community, like homeless shelters or faith-based organizations.

Find the support you need:

  • at for help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Youll talk privately with a trained VA counselor for free.
  • Contact your nearest VA medical center and ask to talk with the VA social worker. If you’re a female Veteran, ask for the Women Veterans Program Manager.

Common Medical Center Services

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VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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Slowing The Privatization Of Veterans Health Care

Secretary McDonough must balance veterans growing use of private health care with spending funds to maintain the VAs medical facilities and slow down health care privatization. The Veterans Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 and the Mission Act of 201821 relaxed rules that made it difficult for veterans to receive routine or specialty care outside the VA system. Under the current system, veterans can choose to receive routine care from a non-VA doctor if they would have to wait more than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for a primary or mental health appointment at a VA facility. For specialty care, the current rules are 20 days and 60 minutes. As a result, Secretary McDonoughs predecessor, Robert Wilkie, encouraged what became a significant increase in the past two years of the Trump administration in patients receiving22 health care through the VAs network of private providers.

Consolidation Into Veterans Administration

Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for service persons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. The Veterans Bureau was established in August 1921, absorbing the War Risk Bureau and the Rehabilitation Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. In 1922, it gained a large number of veterans’ hospital facilities from the Public Health Service, most of which had been recently established on former U.S. Army bases.

By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The establishment of the Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans”. The three component agencies became bureaus within the Veterans Administration. Brigadier GeneralFrank T. Hines, who directed the Veterans Bureau for seven years, was named as the first Administrator of Veterans Affairs, a job he held until 1945.

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Helping Veterans Transition Into Civilian Society

The VA must work more effectively with the Department of Defense to improve the policies and systems that can help military people transition into civilian society. The VA and DOD should work to increase veterans understanding and access to the VAs health care, educational, and housing benefits that are available to them. The departments should also increase awareness of other resources that are available to veterans upon leaving the service to help them reenter civilian life. They can do this through public information campaigns, including making phone calls to newly separated veterans. They should also continue to increase resources that are available for veterans. As Sen. John Tester , the new chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs put it in an interview with Military Times, We do a great job making civilians into warriors. But we dont do as good a job making warriors into civilians.36

Moreover, the VA should quickly crack down on for-profit colleges, many of which exploit the 90/10 loophole37 that allows them to count veterans benefits toward the 10 percent of funding that they must receive from the private sector in order to qualify for federal loans and grants such as the GI Bill. In addition, the VA should cut off GI Bill funding for schools facing legal or punitive actions from the government for using erroneous, deceptive, or misleading ads.

Louisiana Department Of Veterans Affairs

What is VA’s Million Veteran Program?
  • MORE DETAILS

    Help us help vets with an individual contribution in your community. The best way to impact the vets around you is with hands-on assistance through your business, a veteran service organization, and in your community. You can also help our emergency aid initiative with a donation to the Military Family Assistance Fund.

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    Veteran Meaning Understanding The Difference Between Types Of Military Service

    There are a larger variety of services an individual can be a part of than is generally believed. As you will see, the veteran meaning may change based on the type of military service you do. The following are descriptions of each to help you steer your way through:

    Full-time

    Active-duty service is simply full-time. Active-duty members are available for duty 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, with the exclusion of leave or pass . Active-duty members fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Defense and can serve in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

    Remember:

    If an individual served active-duty service, it is credible toward length-of-service requirements when qualifying for veterans benefits.

    Part-Time

    Performing duties one weekend per month, plus two weeks of training per year, members of the Reserves and National Guard are considered part-time, though, since the Gulf War in 1990, theyve spent exponentially more time called to full-time active duties. In fact, National Guards and Reserves generally spend two years of their six-year enlistment performing full-time active duty.

    Come Serve Louisianas Student Veterans As A Lavetcorps Navigator

    Are you a student veteran, military retiree or military spouse? You could be a campus Navigator serving Louisianas student veterans through the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs LaVetCorps program! Currently recruiting for a Navigator at Baton Rouge Community College. Navigators earn a $10,500 stipend for their service during the…

    Find your nearest service office.

    Individual VA benefits and claims information is only given through an accredited Veterans Assistance Counselor.

    Benefits

    You could be eligible for emergency financial assistance through LDVA.

    The Military Family Assistance Fund awarded $350,000 to assist 171,000 veterans and their families affected by flooding in 2016. The fund provides support for a variety of financial hardships when certain criteria apply.

    Are you experiencing a crisis?

    The Veterans Crisis Line is here to support you.

    Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

    We care for our elder veterans in VA homes across the state.

    Our state-of-the-art facilities provide specialized services for veterans, their spouses, and Gold Star parents in five locations across the state, including Jackson, Bossier City, Monroe, Reserve, and Jennings.

    We honor veterans and their families with dedicated burial honors.

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    Early Life And Education

    McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in . He was one of 11 children in a devout family, his grandparents having immigrated from in the .

    From 1996 to 1999, McDonough worked as an aide for the , where he focused on Latin America. He then served as a senior foreign policy advisor to . After Daschle’s , McDonough became for newly elected Senator . McDonough was a senior fellow at the in 2004.

    In 2007, Senator Barack Obama’s chief foreign policy advisor , a , was called into active duty. Lippert recruited McDonough to serve as his replacement during his . McDonough continued to serve as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama during his .

    After , McDonough joined the administration as the head of . He also served as chief of staff.

    On October 20, 2010, Obama announced that McDonough would replace as Deputy National Security Advisor, who had been promoted to succeed General as . McDonough was seen in of the White House Situation Room taken during the monitoring of the May 2011 SEAL operation in Pakistan that resulted in the .

    On January 20, 2013, at the beginning of his second term in office, Obama appointed McDonough his chief of staff. In February 2013 McDonough urged lawmakers to quickly confirm and to their posts in Obama’s national security team, expressing “grave concern” about the delays.

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