Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 3, 1 March 2022 — Accessing VA Benefits After Completing Military Service [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Accessing VA Benefits After Completing Military Service

^ NĀ KOA NEWS

By Reyn Kaupiko

To the Native Hawaiian military veteran community: THANK YOU for your service. And to the family members of those who have served: THANK YOU for your sacrifices. Although your military service is over, you still have access to a wide number of benefits offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). There are a wide range of benefits, including heahh care, home financing, education, burial honors and mueh more. The VA has identified "veteran benefit awareness" as a eommon issue that prevents many qualifying veterans from receiving benefits. You, or someone you know, could be one of these veterans. Why is this the case? Commonly, when a veteran discharges from the military they go their own way, and do not think about retaining an association to their service and/or fellow service members. This isolation creates a barrier in spreading benefit awareness. Other issues may stem from undocumented service-connected injuries, elaim denials, and a general laek of awareness, not to mention the scenarios wherein frustration is experienced when attempting to navigate complicated VA systems. For those who have endured this process, it is acknowledged that an investment of time and attention will be required to complete the VA administrative paperwork and associated processes.

What do I need? To start, the veteran will need a copy of their DD-214 as proof of service. If the vet does not have a copy, one ean be requested at www. archives.gov/veterans. Depending on the elaim or benefit requested, additional paperwork may be required, such as medical records or other documentation. It is best to eheek with a professional counselor for guidance through this process. Where ean I go? Where ean I take my vet? The first plaee any veteran ean go is to the VA itself. If the veteran chooses, they ean utilize any other Veteran Service Organizations (VSO), such as the State of Hawai'i's Office of Veterans Services, U.S. Vets, Vet Center, DAV, Wounded Warrior Project, and several others. Currently, the Native Hawaiian community does not have their own VSO or similar entity. Other native tribe entities have allotted resources for VSO counselors who are successfully assisting their veteran eommunity. With an overwhelming request of the community, to the different Native Hawaiian organizations, this type of service could one day heeome available to our Native Hawaiian veterans. ■ Reyn Kaupiko is a graduate ofKamehameha Schools Kapālama and the Naval Academy. He is an OEF/OIF veteran who served in the U.S. Navy onboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz ( CVN-68 ) and the aircraft carrier USS Wasp ( LHD-1 ) as a naval warfare officer sailing in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pacific oceans. He successfully participated in an-ti-drug stnuggling missions off the coast ofHaiti with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. He also participated in humanitarian efforts in Jamaica, and retrieval offorward-deployed soldiers in the Mediterranean.