"Welcome Home" from Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland will help vets from Iraq and Afghanistan navigate the VA system.

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Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.  If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...  The archive of Jim's articles is here...  To find an answer to a specific VA benefits question, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...  And, be sure to use Jim's:  A Military Veterans Guide To Disability Compensation and Pension Benefits -- A Compendium of Resources and Knowledge For The Disabled Veteran -- click here...   JIm's series for new vets, "Welcome Home," is also featured on Military.com. And, you can follow Jim on TWITTER here ...

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Welcome Home! #9 -- VSO's Offer Help and Support

by Jim Strickland

You've served your country well. It's time to take advantage of the wide range of VA benefits available to you as well as the benefits that your state may also offer.

You won't rest for long... you have a life to live after your military experience so it's time to get on with it. Whether attending school, going straight to work or a combo platter of work, school and family, you're going to use your military training and experience to your advantage.

As you become accustomed to the civilian lifestyle, you won't want to forget those times of the military experience...the good and the bad.
For many of us our service years are a defining period in our lives and we're changed forever.

You'll soon learn that it's not easy to talk to someone about your experiences if that someone hasn't taken the oath and donned the uniform. You can talk about how different the people are in other countries but you'll soon be aware that your new civilian friends and coworkers don't really understand what you're saying.

That you want to mingle with others who have had shared similar experiences to yours, is only natural. While you don't want to limit your circle of friends and acquaintances only to veterans, you'll want to establish a way to ensure that you have other veterans to meet with on a fairly regular basis.

Enter the Veterans Service Organizations.

There are a great many "VSO's" that you'll be able to choose from.
Often enough, the VSO is "chartered" by the VA. This means the organization is approved by the VA to provide an individual to represent you to the VA as you process a disability benefits (or
other) claim.

The chartered groups may provide a Veterans Service Officer (also known as a VSO, sometimes a little confusing), a Post Service Officer or a District Service Officer.

Not all Service Officers have equal training and skills. If this is an important service to you, you should do some homework prior to making a commitment to a Service Organization to ask if your representative will be a part time volunteer or an accredited and well trained Service Officer.

Beyond providing you with a representative to the VA for claims work, the Veterans Service Organization can be a source of friends, a source of business contacts with networking potentials and a wide variety of activities.

As you search for the best fit for your needs, make a quick checklist to decide what qualities are important to you if and when you join a Service Organization.

Are there ample opportunities for your family to participate in activities with you? Are the fees and dues reasonable considering your budget?

Do you believe that you want a bigger role in organizing events and will there be opportunities for you to be involved in the future?

Does the organization you're looking at provide emergency assistance for veterans in need and are there other charitable events such as supporting VA Stand Downs?

Different groups have different strengths in many communities. Is there a facility such as a meeting hall or community center available for your chosen organization? Is the physical plant close enough to you that it won't become a burden to get there for weekly or monthly activities?

If the meeting facility is often used, does it all appear in good repair and the sort of place you'd enjoy visiting with your family? Is there an auxiliary that your family may join independently of you?

Not unlike a college fraternity, the Veterans Service Organization can be an important and rewarding part of your life for many years. The shared experiences of the past and the patriotic flavor of participating with those who have also served in future events...parades, reviews and town hall meetings with elected officials...can be a very meaningful part of your life.

No matter what generation warrior you are, you'll find that our dedication to country will bridge gaps in age and era of service.

Take your time in reviewing what each group has to offer and choose the one that fits you best. You'll be glad you did.

For a listing of the many available organizations, visit the VA’s Veteran Service Organization directory.

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Strickland, Veterans' Advocate, Welcome Home, Iraq veteran, Afghanistan veteran