VA & R / Economics

Contact Information

VA&R Division - About The Commission

As one of the four pillars upon which The American Legion was founded, the National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission actively advocates for, and exercises independent oversight over, a myriad of benefits, programs and opportunities created to compensate and care for generations of American veterans and their dependents.

The Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission provides direct assistance (to veterans and families) in a variety of ways, including providing representation on disability claims and appeals, health-care advocacy, military discharge reviews and upgrades, deployment health and environmental exposures, and memorial benefits. Additionally, the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation national staff maintains an active voice in congressional deliberations regarding veterans’ issues and have a well-established and respected working relationship with the Department of Veterans Affairs that includes regular participation in major VA advisory committees.

Commission Structure

Chairman: K. Robert Lewis
Vice Chairman: Michael Suter
Directory of VA&R Commission Members (80-Appendix)
Directory of Cemetery Committee Members

National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Staff

Director: Peter S. Gaytan
Administrative Assistant: Sharon Southern
Deputy Director for Claims: Steve Smithson

The Claims Service component of the National Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division (VA&R) is responsible for providing American Legion representation at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offices located at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), Appeals Management Center (AMC) and Washington, D.C. Regional Office (WRO). National Claims Service also acts as a liaison between the National American Legion and its accredited representatives (Department Service Officers) nationwide.

• Appeals and Special Claims Unit - Located at the Board of Veteran Appeals (BVA) in Washington D.C., there are fourteen appeals representatives and a Medical Consultant that provide representation to claimants- Sam Gilmore, BVA Office Manager
• Appeals Management Center (AMC) and Washington Regional Office - Walter Bledsoe
• Discharge review and Corrections Board Unit - Ray Spencer, Team Leader

Deputy Director for Healthcare: Joseph Wilson

Field Service Unit

The System Worth Saving Task Force, appointed by the National Commander, accompanies National Field Service Representatives to conduct site visits to assess the state of VA health care throughout the VA Medical System, as mandated by Resolution 206, “Annual State of VA Medical Facilities.”

To date, The American Legion has published five annual reports focusing on VA Medical Centers in the following areas: fiscal; enrollment; accessibility and seamless transition/continuum of care; staffing and affiliations; nursing home care; physical plant (major and minor construction); voluntary service and overall challenges that would potentially impede the administration of adequate and quality care for this nation’s veterans. The 2008 report will focus on VA Nursing Home Units located within VA Medical Centers.

Health Policy Unit

The Health Policy Unit is maintained and facilitated by an Assistant Director, who follows veterans’ health issues, to include military programs and health consequences relating to environmental exposures. To ensure veterans are completely informed of issues pertaining to their needs, the Assistant Director also tracks initiatives and issues relevant to: Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF); Gulf War Era Veterans (GWEV) and other veterans’ issues including healthcare, and scientific and medical research.

The American Legion also interconnects with various committees within VA to ensure veterans remain sentient of all pertinent issues. The Advisory Committees include:

• Structural Safety of VA Facilities
• National Research Advisory Council
• Former Prisoners of War
• Women Veterans
• Geriatrics and Gerontology
• Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Research
• Minority Veterans
• Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF)
• Veterans’ Rehabilitation
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Agent Orange
• Shipboard Hazard Defense (SHAD)
• Depleted Uranium (DU)

Heroes to Hometowns Program- Assistant Director for DOD Outreach

In an effort to increase transparency and cooperation between the Department of Defense and the American people, The American Legion entered into an understanding with the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) Office of Military Community and Family Policy (MCFP) under the authority of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy to assist in outreach and assistance efforts to transitioning severely injured service members. The American Legion provides outreach support to the military community's severely injured as they transitioned home through a program known as Heroes to Hometowns.

Heroes to Hometowns is a program that focuses on the reintegration of veterans back into the community, with networks established at the national and state levels to better identify the extraordinary needs of families before they return home and with the local community to coordinate government and non-government resources as necessary for as long as needed. The American Legion leads communities in preparing for returning service members in areas such as:

• Financial assistance;
• Finding suitable homes and adapting as needed;
• Home and vehicle repairs;
• Transportation for veterans to medical appointments;
• Employment and educational assistance;
• Child care support;
• Arrange “Welcome Home” celebrations;
• Sports and recreation opportunities

When a transitioning veteran requests assistance via a web-form or brochure available through The American Legion, the veteran’s contact information is shared with the State Executive Committee. The veteran must agree to share non-sensitive information such as their name, address and telephone number and the type of assistance requested. This information is shared with the three charter members to coordinate support.

In 2007, the Heroes to Hometowns program expanded its vision to include all transitioning service members, to include the underserved National Guard and Reserve components. Currently, the National Guard and Reserve do not have mandated Transition Assistance Programs (TAP) when demobilizing. This hard to reach population primarily lives in rural America, disconnected from the traditional services provided by the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).

The American Legion recently entered into a pilot program with VA in creating Heroes to Hometowns VA Volunteer Coordinators at 11 VA Medical Centers. These coordinators will work with the VA Medical Center Social Work offices and identify and connect transitioning service members’ personal needs with community resources. These VA Medical Centers are: MA; Dayton, OH; Houston, TX; Louisville, KY; Phoenix, Arizona; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; St. Louis, MS; San Diego, CA; Washington, DC and West Haven, CT.

The American Legion, with its 2.7 million members and 14,000 posts, reaches into these rural communities conveying a consistent message of strong support for: America’s military personnel; the veterans who return home; care for the veteran's family; and, a patriotic pride in America. With the Heroes to Hometowns program, The American Legion reaches out to provide support long-after the deployment is over.

The American Legion State offices refer the veteran’s request to the local post, which voluntarily connects with the veteran to provide community resources. The Heroes to Hometowns Program focuses on those needs not provided by federal and state agencies.

National Cemetery Committee

Assistant Director for Policy Outreach: Larry Provost

The American Legion works closely with the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Arlington National Cemetery, and other federal and state governments and entities to ensure a proper burial for all veterans as well as honorable burial services for the veteran, the family of the veteran, and other loved ones. Our relationship with NCA is dedicated to maintaining NCA’s high level of quality assurance. In the last several years, NCA has received the highest affirmative rating of any federal agency. The American Legion is a proud partner in this effort. Burial benefits information can be found on the NCA Webpage at www.cem.va.gov.

The American Legion also serves as a major coordinator of the Missing in America Project www.miap.us. This project ensures that cremated remains of veterans, long forgotten in funeral homes, hospitals, and other establishments, are laid to rest. The American Legion provides a large portion of Missing in America’s volunteers and is proud to partner with other organizations in supporting this noble endeavor.

VA&R Resolutions Portfolio Manager and Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) Program

Assistant Director for Program Management: Jacob Gadd

The American Legion has been a staunch supporter and active participant in the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) program since its inception in 1946. Today, across the country we have close to 7,000 volunteers that serve over 900,000 hours annually at various VA Medical Centers, Community Based Outpatient Centers, Vet Centers, Nursing Homes, State Veterans Homes, and many more locations in support of our hospitalized veterans. In every VA Medical Center, there are American Legion VAVS Representatives and Deputy Representatives that attend quarterly hospital meetings and coordinate volunteers and donation needs lists with their local community American Legion posts. Anyone can volunteer; for information concerning individual or post participation, you can contact the Chief of Voluntary Service at the local VA Medical Center. For more information, go to www.legion.org/veterans/affairs/volunteer.

VA Insurance Center, Philadelphia

Gil Laverda

Daily operations involve a full range of insurance services to include: the representation of insured veterans and their beneficiaries; the review of insurance case files and supporting evidence and Claims files as required; the furnishing of status reports and account assistance to insured’s, beneficiaries, accredited field representatives and DVA adjudicative and accounts personnel; close liaison with Department Service Officers and other field service personnel to ensure prompt and complete service; and, the input to, review of, and where necessary the correction of DVA actions and records both on cases involving disability and death claims, and on those involving any of a wide variety of insurance accounting and financial transactions that occur on active and matured accounts. General insurance information and guidance is provided to field service officers across the United States, along with assistance in the preparation of insurance appeals and claims submittals.

Debt Management Center, Minneapolis

Supervisor of Debt Management Activities: Julie Larson

Subcommittees

National Cemetery Committee
Voluntary Service
Conference Committee on Recommendations
Certificates of Appreciation
Convention Screening Committee

VA&R Calendar

Mid-Winter VA&R Conference
Spring Commission Meeting
Spring National Executive Committee Meeting
Convention
Fall Commission Meeting
Fall National Executive Committee Meeting

Provide Service First

Direct Assistance - Division Staff and Department Service Officers
Advocacy - Testimony, Working Relationship with VA, Representation on Advisory Committees
Development of Resource Material

Department Service Officers (DSO)

Accredited, trained and knowledgeable professionals
DSO Schools twice a year
Quality Reviews
DSO Association Seminar

Resource Material

VA&R Bulletins: Upon Request - staff presentation at Department functions
VA&R Publications: Post Service Officer Guide, Gulf War Benefits and Programs, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Vietnam Veterans - Guide to Agent Orange Benefits,
What to do Before a Veteran Dies, Women Veterans - Identify Risk, Services and Prevention, Heroes to Hometowns, Sourcebook for Military Personnel and Veterans and
Welcome Home Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom - Know Your Benefits

VA&R Resolutions

Approximately 60 mandates (many with Legislative Intent)
Claims and Ratings
Medical and Hospital
National Cemetery Administration

VA Structure

Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
National Cemetery Administration (NCA)

VA&R Guiding Principles

Improved timeliness and quality decisions on benefits claims (VBA)
Improved access to and timeliness of veterans health care (VHA)
Enhanced access to national and state cemeteries (NCA)

VA&R Top Issues

Mandatory Funding for Veterans Health Care
Medicare Reimbursement
System Worth Saving “Annual Report on the State of VA Health Care”
Disability Claims Backlog

Other Useful Websites

Department of Veterans Affairs:
www.va.gov

Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA):
http://www1.va.gov/health/index.asp

Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA):
http://www.vba.va.gov/%20

Department of Veterans National Cemetery Administration (NCA)
http://www.cem.va.gov/%20

Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service Program (VAVS)
http://www.volunteer.va.gov/%20

Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Centers
http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/

Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents:
www.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben/pdf

National Center for PTSD:
www.ncptsd.va.gov

Fisher House:
http://www.fisherhouse.org/

Economics Division

The Economics Division is responsible for ensuring that America’s veterans have the opportunity to provide, with honor and dignity, the economic necessities of life for themselves and their families. Contact us for guidance, technical assistance, and troubleshooting, because we are experts in programs involving veterans’ education, small business, employment, veterans’ preference, VA home loans, homeless veterans, training, licensing and certification, transition, USERRA, and other economic related issues. We can assist veterans in obtaining employment through our 170 veteran targeted job fairs around the country with RecruitMilitary and Military.com, our two online partnerships with AVUE and Monster, provide information, guidance and, when appropriate, a referral for employment. Our Small Business Task Force can provide you tools to assist you in obtaining loans, technical assistance, and other guidance. To end homelessness and prevent homelessness amongst veterans we coordinate a Homeless Veterans Task Force to augment veteran service providers and fill in the gaps where there are no programs to assist veterans.

Through our awards program, The American Legion pays tribute to those employers across the country who have established outstanding records in the employment and retention of veterans, workers with disabilities and older workers, and to outstanding members of the state employment security agencies. Furthermore, we coordinate programs with directors and chief operators within federal agencies such as Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, Department of Education, Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management, Government Services Administration, and the Government Accountability Office. Finally, we testify to Congress regularly on veteran focused programs to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Committees and meet regularly with congressional staff members.