Randy Mayer is a retired Marine First Sergeant with over 20 years of service in the Corps and ten years experience as a County Veterans Service Officer.  He will be a regular contributor and hosting our Q. and A. about Disability and Compensation, health benefits,etc. “Ask the First Sergeant” will be a regular post. Feel free to contact Randy directly at randymayer7@hotmail.com with any questions. 

Compensation and Pension Benefits

Many Veterans are entitled to compensation and pension benefits and do not know it. Call your local County Veterans Service Officer, meet with him, and he will place you in the program if you are eligible. They will do all the paper work for you. You do not need an attorney. Do not wait. The Veterans Administration pays benefits from date of claim not dates of service. Patience is the name of the game with the claims process. The system is backlogged and slow but does work if you stay the course. Even if the VA denies your first application, stay with the appeal process. If you have a legitimate claim, it will be approved and you will receive not only compensation, but also added benefits available to those with service-connected disabilities.

VA Healthcare

 VA Healthcare is an entitlement that many veterans qualify for. Get started now. The VA will not knock on your door. You must come to the table to get benefits you may be entitled to. Do not do this on your own. Seek a County Veterans Service Officer in your local area. You do not need an attorney. County Veterans Service Officer are school trained paid employees who will screen you and do all the paper work for you. They work for the county government not the Veterans Administration. There is a web site with a national listing of county veteran service officers and phone numbers. www.nacvso.org. The great news is it costs nothing. Your tax dollars pay for this great service. The VA will bury you in forms and paperwork if you call and do it on your own. Make an appointment today. All you need is your  DD-214.

Go to www.TADPGS.com to view our job openings and join our LinkedIn group, Veterans Hiring Solutions for Veterans and Companies at http://linkd.in/Sg346w. If you have specific questions about issues affecting you, your benefits, your dependents etc., feel free to send them to me personally and I will try to help you. If you have questions about compensation and disability benefits or VA health care benefits, ask the First Sergeant at randymayer7@hotmail.com.