American Legion

Chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919, the Legion is the largest of the VSOs, with 2.4 million members. It and the VFW also have the broadest non-veteran community programs of all the VSOs, from American Legion Baseball, with more than 5,400 amateur teams, to Boys State/Boys Nation to introduce high school seniors to the functioning of government.

It and the VFW also have the broadest non-veteran community programs of all the VSOs, from American Legion Baseball, with more than 5,400 amateur teams, to Boys State/Boys Nation to introduce high school seniors to the functioning of government.

Its services to veterans and their families include assistance to homeless veterans, Family and Youth Support Center immediate financial and emotional assistance to Gulf War service personnel and their families, and Operation Comfort Warriors, providing wounded or ill military personnel with comfort items not usually supplied by the government.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Sept. 10, 2013, Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger told lawmakers that “as advocates for veterans and their families, we stand at a critical threshold.”

“More than 1.2 million U.S. service men and women in the coming four years will make the transition from active duty service to new lives as civilian veterans – many of them greatly changed by their wartime experiences,” he said. “At the same time, millions of proud veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent military engagements are aging and looking to us to fulfill our nation’s promises of support, in gratitude for their sacrifices.

“The pre-9/11 and post-9/11 generations of veterans are equally important and yet, in many ways, they are different. Our shared obligation to meet all of their needs is a complex challenge – and we all share in the obligation to meet this challenge. A recent VA survey reveals that only about half of America’s 22.5 million veterans use the government benefits available to them. Worse yet, that same survey showed nearly 60 percent of America’s veterans had little or no idea about VA benefits they may be eligible to receive.”

“Another disturbing statistic is that while the rest of the nation’s unemployment is declining, recently returning post-9/11 veteran unemployment has actually risen another 2 percent and is now at 10 percent unemployed.”

Veterans, he added, understand the nation’s financial problems, but also know a strong military and well cared-for service members – active and veteran – “are the foundations our nation’s strength.”

“As it was after World War II, our recovery depends on well-employed and well-educated veterans. Strides have been made on that front. But we still have a long way to go,” he told the committee. “According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics, the veteran population continues to suffer higher unemployment rates than their non-veteran peers.

“Another disturbing statistic is that while the rest of the nation’s unemployment is declining, recently returning post-9/11 veteran unemployment has actually risen another 2 percent and is now at 10 percent unemployed.”

 

Disabled American Veterans

Founded in 1920 as Disabled American Veterans of the World War, congressionally chartered in 1932, and renamed toward the end of World War II, DAV currently has 250,000 members, about 270 full-time NSOs and more than three dozen transition service officers.

“DAV maintains the largest network of national, transition, department and service officers in the country, as well as a number of [our own] programs, all free of charge to the men and women who served and their families,” Executive Director Barry Jesinoski said. “Last year we represented about 300,000 claims for about a quarter of a million veterans and their families and obtained more than $5 billion in annual compensation benefits.

“Another thing that makes us different from some VSOs is the people we serve are veterans, family members or their survivors from all eras, regardless of wartime service or theater. You do have to be a wartime veteran to join DAV, but do not have to be a DAV member to receive our free services. We also assist those who have not been injured or wounded with patient claims and benefits. But the majority of what we do is provide assistance to veterans who were injured or fell ill while in the military.”

DAV NSOs go through a four-year training program to become accredited to practice law before the VA under Title 38, followed by a continuous cycle of virtual, in-depth training under their Structured & Continuing Training Program.

“Everything one needs to know about certain types of disabilities, what level of severity gets what level of compensation, all the laws related to processing those claims, etc., comes under Title 38. The NSOs are not lawyers, but are considered attorneys-in-fact,” he said. “Ours also is the only VSO training program accredited by the American Council of Education.

“Because DAV is an organization of veterans helping veterans, our NSOs must be disabled wartime veterans who were injured or fell ill in service and gone through their own claims process. Becoming a National Service Officer is a lifelong commitment; it gets in your blood and you have to be a special kind of person to do it well and do it for many, many years.”

Most DAV NSOs came from the Army, followed by the Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserves, although a few were academy or ROTC cadets injured during wartime active duty training. About a quarter of all DAV NSOs are women, compared to about 15 percent in the uniformed services.

“Another thing that distinguishes us from other VSOs is our voluntary services program, which is the nation’s largest network of volunteers working at VA facilities. The volunteers can work in almost any capacity at a medical center, from just visiting patients to helping with therapy or getting them to and from their appointments.”

“Another thing that distinguishes us from other VSOs is our voluntary services program, which is the nation’s largest network of volunteers working at VA facilities. The volunteers can work in almost any capacity at a medical center, from just visiting patients to helping with therapy or getting them to and from their appointments,” he said.

“Beyond that is our DAV Transportation Network Program. Since 1987, DAV has donated more than 2,700 vans to the VA, at a cost of about $57 million, and recruited a volunteer network of drivers. They have driven enough miles to equal seven trips to and from Mars, encompassing almost 31 million hours of volunteer service in providing some 15 million free rides to patients. There is no other program like it in the country.”

 

American Veterans

AMVETS was founded in 1944 as The American Veterans of World War II, and has a current membership of 180,000.

In testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Committee on the Independent Budget prepared each year by the major VSOs, AMVETS National Legislative Director Diane M. Zumatto told lawmakers it is mandatory “that the VA continually receives sufficient, timely and predictable funding.”

“In the midst of all the budget and spending woes, the IB-VSOs hope that neither Congress nor the administration forgets the sacred obligation they have to those who serve and protect this country. Our nation must remain steadfast and committed to ensuring that our military, veterans, their families and survivors receive their earned benefits in a timely and efficient manner,” he said.

“Among the most important parts of this commitment to veterans involves the transition process and finding post-military employment. Congress and the administration need to ensure that veterans have every opportunity to find living-wage work when they return home, receive the healthcare and benefits they’ve earned, and have the chance to get a college education through VA’s education benefit programs, such as the post-9/11 GI Bill.”

 

Paralyzed Veterans of America

PVA, founded 1946, has 19,000 official members, but reported assisting more than 50,000 veterans and their families in 2012. While PVA and DAV may seem very similar, Executive Director Homer S. Townsend Jr. said they have distinct structures and goals.

“Our members are paraplegics, quadriplegics – we’ve even become the organization of choice for ALS. We were able to convince the VA to act more quickly on ALS because by the time many began receiving help, it already had progressed,” he explained. “We help people find jobs and are the only VSO with doctors, nurses and even architects on staff, who look at the accessibility of every VA building under construction.

“Another difference from the other VSOs is we visit the White House on a regular basis when it comes to disability issues in the private sector, so what we do helping veterans and advocating for them in the community also helps anyone else with a disability. We’re in every VA hospital and work closely with the VA, so if someone comes in with a spinal cord injury, the VA asks if they know about PVA and want to speak to someone about it.”

About 40 percent of PVA’s members are from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. While only about 10 percent of the 190,000 eligible veterans are members, Townsend said membership is not an issue for anyone seeking assistance.

“We have been able to make sure all the VA polytrauma centers are co-located with VA spinal cord centers so our doctors and nurses could make sure their patients were taken care of as well as our members. Nobody else is doing that. It’s a partnership between us and the VA,” he said.

“There’s nothing in private practice that compares at any level with the VA’s polytrauma centers. There are 24 Spinal Cord Injury Centers in the U.S., and we visit them all. We have seven nurses and three doctors on staff, and hire people from the VA as consultants.”

PVA was formed as an advocacy group when service members returning from World War II found no place for people with disabilities.

“Our organization really came into its own after Vietnam, where the signature injury was spinal cord injury. But as body and vehicle armor improved [during the current war], the enemy increased the explosive power of their attacks, which resulted in more spinal cord injuries,” Townsend noted, adding the care paralyzed veterans require extends beyond the physical.

“Because of the nature of this conflict, the disabilities are more catastrophic – physically and financially – but DoD and the VA weren’t prepared for the level of polytrauma. At this point, we don’t yet know how bad it will be when everyone finally comes home and begins leaving the military. We expect PTSD, for example, to affect at least 350,000 people, but we don’t have enough therapists to do the job that needs to be done for these returning guys and gals.

“In our spinal cord wards, we’ve had female members for many years and have helped the VA with our architects to ensure there are single or double rooms for greater privacy. The VA has made major, major strides, but aren’t really prepared for the growing number of female veterans throughout the whole system.”