Doc McKelvie's Office - View topic - RE: United States Department of Veterans Affairs - A Place For Veterans & Active/Reserve Duty Personnel, Whether Military OR Civilian Services (e.g. - Emergency Services: Fire, Rescue, Police, Medical), To Come Together And Share Information and Experiences - Free Message Board Hosting by FreePowerBoards.com

Originaly Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:59 am
By: DocMcKelvie

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Hi all. This first post is going to be an amalgamation of posts related to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs taken from my postings under the orignal Veteran's Information topic forum in "OW~CommandPost™" Forum Index. Happy reading and I hope you all find something of interest to you. Here goes:

The following link will direct you to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs(DVA) hompage; as it is the best place to get acquaited with that DVA is all about. There are many links associated with this website and in future postings I will talk about them more specifically. For now, here is the DVA's homepage URL: http://www.va.gov/.

Did you know that if you're a returning vet from either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom that you are entitled to benefits directly related to the conditions associated with those U.S. military actions? If not, you might want to check out this U.S. Dept. of Vet. Affairs homepage called 'Seamless Transition Home' for returning vets such as yourself. Here's the link: http://www.seamlesstransition.va.gov/.

You might want to check with your local state's Dept. of Vet. Affairs or Dept. of Military Affairsm or Dept. of Military and Vet. Affairs. The following link can help you connect with info on how to contact your local state office: 'State and Territory Departments of Veterans Affairs' at http://www.nasdva.com/.

Just a little something to tweak your interest in what is out there for those who have served their country and proved their willingness to go into harm's way in the name of freedom.

The following link is the 'Health Care — Veterans Health Administration' homepagge within the U.S. Dept. of Vet. Affairs(DVA) system. This is where you want to go to first to learn what is available, what you may be eligible for and how to apply for VA Health Care. The is a seperate process from the DVA's Disability Compensation and Pension process and ther criteria are there for also different. So look through this site carefully and definitely check all the associated links. Here's the URL: http://www1.va.gov/health/. Remember, some of these benefits may be available to you even if you're still on active/reserve duty.

Now I am going to direct you to the DVA's homepage for applying for Disability Compensation and Pension Benefits. It is extremely important to know that the criteria for receiving Disability Compensation and Disability Pension are very different. The two most obvious difference is the question of whether the diability is service-connected and, if not, what other income the applicant may already have coming in. Disability Compensation is non-income based and based on service connection. Disability Pension is notdependent on the disability being service-connected; but it is income-based. You will want to review this section carefully to determine what type of benefit you are seeking and then follow the guidlines for applying for that particular benefit. Here is the URL for this homepage: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/index.htm.

Another tip for you when applying for these benfits. Use the various service organizations such as the DAV, Am. Leg., VFW, PVA, etc. to represent you. This is what they do and they di it very well. You can only assign one organization to represent you and you will want to see it through to the end with the organization for the sake of consistancy.

If like me you are living overseas then you definnitely want to visit the DVA's CHAMPVA homepage. This will get you pointed in the right direction as to what you need to do and when. Her's the URL: http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp.

The following link will take you to take to to the DVA's "VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION & EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM" hompage. If you are a service-connected disabled veteran and you qualify for VOCREHAB, then this is the place to go to learn all about it and start the application process. Here's the URL: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/index.htm. There are plenty of links on this page and you'll want to check them all out. Good luck and feel free to contact me regarding any advice you might need. If I don't have the answer; I will direct you to someone who does.

The following URL will lead yo to the DVA's "My HealtheVet" homepage: http://www.myhealth.va.gov/. As you can see, it is an entry portal to a site where you can start to take direct control over your health care within the DVA's health system. This will be your best guide to all the things you need to do to increase the efficiancy of the DVA's treatment of the your specific health problems. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions you might have related to this site.

This URL will take you to the homepage of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group: http://www.pbm.va.gov/PBM/menu.asp. Because of continual budget cuts and other factors, it is important to remain aware of what you entitlements are with regards to the uss of the DVA's pharmacies. This is the place to go to keep up with what is happening and what changes are being made.

The following URL will lead you to the VHA Programs & Organizations homepage. It will be of great help to you when learning more about the DVA's health care system. Here is the URL: http://www1.va.gov/health/gateway.html.

If you are an honorably discharged veteran and would like to coontinue to serve your government and your fellow veterans and active/reserve duty personnel; then you will want to visit the homepage of the DVA's VA JOBS at this URL: http://www.va.gov/jobs/Career_Search.asp.

One of our most valuable assets for our future is our kids; as they will one day be our leaders and many will even choose to serve in the military as so many have before them. The DVA has taken this to heart and created as hompage called the "Kids Page". Its intent is to help them better understand our veterans and gthe issues surrounding them Here is the URL: http://www.va.gov/kids/.

This DVA hompage called "My HealtheVet" helps you to start to take charge of your healthcare and better utilize the VA Health Care System, by understanding what you must do. Here's the URL: https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhvPortal/anonymous.portal?_nfpb=true&_nfto=false&_pageLabel=mhvHome.

Burials and Memmorials:

This link is located in the DVA's homepage ( at http://www.va.gov/) and is currently being updated. it is not a subject any of us really wants to contemplate; but it is a reality just the same. Once the "Burials and Memmorials" homepage is up and running again, I suggest you check it out.

If you are a service-connected disabled veteran and qualify under the DVA's regulations then you might want to go to its VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION & EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM homepage and see how you can get help from the DVA in getting your life back as much as possible. This is the URL: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/index.htm.

The followng link will direct you to the homepage that covers a topic none of us really wants to have to face up to; but for which we all will have to deal with sooner or later and that is the DVA's homepage on Burial & Memorials at the following URL: http://www.cem.va.gov/. As you will see, the site is currently undergoing some updating; so it may be a while before the site is back to normal. However, there are links available to go to that will prove helpful.

The following link will direct you to the homepage of the Board of Veterans' Appeals located in Washington, D.C. . These are the people who are the last resort, short of a legal issue that might involve the Veterans' Court of Appeals, that would review your case for any diability claims you might be making. Rule of thumb with the DVA is the same as with the Social Security Administration when it comes to disability claims and that is: APPEAL, APPEAL, APPEAL !!!!!!! until you've used up all your options for successfully finally for a disability claim. Here is the Board of Veterans' Appeals URL: http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/.

The following link will direct you to the homepage dedicated to Returning Veterans that is entitled "Seamless Transition Home". It provides important links for returning active/reserve duty personnel from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Here's the link: http://www.seamlesstransition.va.gov/.

This link will direct you to a webpage having to do with the DVA's and Department of Health and Human Services cooperative effort on combat Diabetes among veterans. Here is the URL: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vafeature/healthierus_vets.asp.

This link will direct you to the DVA's CHAMPVA homepage. If you or your direct family members marre eligible for the services that CHAMPVA has to offer this is the place to find out. Here is the URL: http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp.

If you want to know where those DVA dollars are going and how they are being used the "Veteran Data and Information" homepage @ http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/ is the place to look.

I think that's more than enough reading on this topic for today folks; so we'll call it quits for today. Stand by for future postings.

Meanwhile, take care and all my best to you and yours.

Doc

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