Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General’s Post

Veterans You should never pay for services to assist you in filing for a claim. Check out this free course from Psycharmor to learn why you should seek out the assistance of a Veteran Service Officer.

Check it out! In a recent Op-Ed for Stars and Stripes, our Executive Director, David Cook, calls both politicians and VSOs to support the bipartisan Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services for Veterans Act, or “PLUS Act”, which would accredit private organizations that aim to assist veterans in preparing and submitting their disability claims to the VA, all while protecting veterans from bad-players who seek to defraud them and take their money. With the VA system backlogged with 1.1 million disability claims, veterans need more options, not fewer. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/dxJJqEBB #starsandstripes #plusact #congress #veterans #veteransdeservechoice #supportveterans #specialoperations #specialoperationsforces

Recognizing the negative impact harmful behaviors like drug abuse, criminality, domestic and child abuse, suicide, and other forms of disruptive conduct can have on military readiness, morale, and job satisfaction, the Department of Defense (DoD) has initiated a groundbreaking new career field aimed at preventing these destabilizing behaviors before they begin. To learn more about careers in prevention and the rewarding opportunities they present, visit https://lnkd.in/g_5iwMbg. #AFCS #PreventionProgram

Received this great note from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Action Corps today in my email! Make sure to reach out to your representative to get HR 1139 - GUARD VA Benefits Act passed! Claim Shark companies have made statements that they aren’t breaking the law because they don’t charge fees for “preparing” veterans' claims. Claim Sharks state that they “assist” or “consult” for veterans' claims, and this how they rationalize why they should be allowed to charge thousands of dollars for their services. This is still illegal. Using creative semantics to skirt the law is not innovative, and it is not honest or transparent. There are no “good actors” or “bad actors”. Every company that charges for initial claims assistance is doing it illegally. Claim Sharks say veterans should have the “choice” to be fleeced out of thousands of dollars. No matter how much money these companies spend on Capitol Hill, the VFW will not allow them to dismantle consumer protections and normalize harming veterans.

Lessons for #SOF #Special #Operations #Forces can be learnt from my 2014 #Journal of #Defence #Studies #article on #optimising the #command of #SOF via: https://lnkd.in/e3FsXtfg

The Department of Defense (DOD) just published a Proposed Rule that will benefit defense contractors that are 100% employee-owned S-corporations. The rule appears to follow on from the pilot program run by DOD in early 2023. The rule is open for comment until 7/29/24. You can learn more about the requirements of the Proposed Rule in this article from The National Law Review: https://ow.ly/iE4i50SeQPv #ESOP #employeeownership #defensecontracting

Veterans in Financial Markets (VFM) is hosting a webinar on February 27, 2024 at 5pm est highlighting how VFM can assist veterans transition to careers in the securities industry! This is a great opportunity for Veterans to understand opportunities and the process to find relevant positions. #veterans #veteran #veteranshelpingveterans #capitalmarkets

In an effort to reach out to veterans who may have been affected by the repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the DoD is offering resources including military service statistics on review board discharge applications, stats on types of discharges, and FAQs for veterans seeking a discharge upgrade, including how to appeal to do so. The DoD is initiating new outreach campaigns to encourage anyone who believes they suffered an error or injustice to seek correction to their military records to better reflect the honor with which they served. For the first time, the DoD will also begin proactively reviewing the military records of veterans discharged because of their sexual orientation who may be eligible for discharge upgrades but have not yet applied. For more details and resources, check out our Defense.gov spotlight. #reform

When the systems put in place to respond to a need are not adequate, you can either let the need continue to go unaddressed or you can innovate and create a different system. When it comes to preventing Veteran suicide, we chose to innovate. Nation’s Finest Mobile Service Units. Innovation in action. #Veterans #nationsfinest #supportveterans