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Veterans' Notes

By VVAW

DISCHARGES AND VETS BENEFITS

(VETERANS' NOTES, a regular column in The Veteran, tries to cut through some of the bureaucratese, the normal language of the Veterans Administration. The VA tries either to hide their regulations concerning benefits or else just never bothers to tell vets about them. If there are particular areas of vets benefits you want to see explained in this column let the VVAW National Office know about them.)

Because there have been a number of questions over what kind of discharge is qualified, according to V.A. regulations, for which benefits, VETS NOTES is printing the chart on this page. Almost all of the benefits listed here have other restrictions in addition to type of discharge (for instance, you have to use the GI Bill within 10 years, apply for discharge upgrading within 15 years, etc). There are also some differences depending on where you live--the civil service preference, for instance, is good for federal jobs, but different states have differences in regulations for state jobs.

For vets with undesirable discharges, most of the benefits are listed as "To be determined" by the regional V.A. As usual, that means a hassle because, so long as the V.A. can operate on one vet at a time, they will almost always try to deny any benefits. Veterans should be aware that their regional office does have some functionary in it who can make these decisions, however, since one tactic of the V.A. is to say that "we have to consult with higher-ups."

VVAW chapters have found, in the past, that the "determination" of benefits can often be simplified by a number of vets working together--what the V.A. will try to do one vet it will not try when there are 10 vets confronting the official who makes the determination.