Veterans' benefits
 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (April 2016) |
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) under the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a wide variety of benefits to retired or separated United States armed forces personnel and their dependents or survivors.[1] Through the VA, Veterans can receive educational assistance (GI Bill), healthcare, assisted living,[2] home loans, insurance, and burial and memorial services. The VA also provides compensation to disabled veterans[3] who suffer from a medical disorder or injury that was incurred in, or aggravated by, their military service, and which causes social and occupational impairment.[4] Many U.S. states also offer disability benefits for veterans.[5]
Types of Benefits
[edit]Educational Benefits
[edit]The VA offers several education and career readiness programs including tuition assistance, vocational training, and career counseling.[6] The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (commonly known as the "Post 9/11 GI Bill") provides full tuition and fees at four-year colleges or other qualified educational programs for Veterans who served on active duty for at least 3 years after September 11, 2001. The Personalized Career Planning and Guidance program (VA Chapter 38) provides free educational and career planning for eligible Veterans.
Medical Benefits
[edit]Eligible Veterans can receive VA health care, which covers standard preventative care and treatment services, as well as therapy and rehabilitation services, prosthetic items, and radiation oncology, among other services.[7] Veterans with service-related physical conditions (e.g. chronic illness or injury) or mental health conditions (e.g. PTSD) can also apply for monthly tax-free disability compensation from the VA.[8]
Employment Benefits
[edit]The Veteran Readiness and Employment program (VA Chapter 31) offers vocational rehabilitation, training, and other career services for Veterans who have a service-related disability.[9] The Veteran Small Business Certification program provides advantages for Veteran-owned small businesses competing for government contracts.[10]
Other Benefits
[edit]Additional benefits are available through the VA to qualifying Veterans including VA home loans,[11] life insurance,[12] pensions,[13] and miscellaneous grants.[14]
History
[edit]Archival record of the benefits awarded to injured soldiers and veterans of the American Civil War began after 1865. Union soldiers received a more committed pension archival effort on the part of the Federal government, thanks to superior databases in the North and a more stable bureaucratic oversight.[15] Turmoil during Reconstruction in the war-weary South made any effort at maintaining pension records difficult if not impossible. Later university-led research projects would give insight into the history of pension provisions by the Federal government leading up to the Civil War.[16] These analysis shed light on the ever-changing role of compensation in American society and delved into the idea that American Revolutionary War soldiers received superior care after war than later Civil War veterans.[17]
In 1932 veterans from the First World War marched on Washington as the Bonus Army, also known as the Bonus Expeditionary Force, to demand benefits.
See also
[edit]- Benefits for United States veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder
- Military dependent
- Title 37 of the United States Code: Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services
- Title 38 of the United States Code outlines the role of Veterans' Benefits in the United States Code
- Veterans Affairs, the government agency or department of various governments
- Veterans Benefits Administration, the US government agency
References
[edit]- ^ "Benefit Summary Materials". Veterans Benefits Administration. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Simmons, Claire (15 January 2015). "Nursing Home Care and the Aid and Attendance Benefit". VeteranAid. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ "Service-connected Disabilities". Veterans Benefits Administration. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Compensation". Veterans Benefits Administration. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Absher, Jim (2024-01-11). "Your 2024 State Veteran Benefits". Military.com. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA education and training benefits". Veterans Affairs. 2024-05-30. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA health care". Veterans Affairs. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA disability compensation". Veterans Affairs. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Careers and employment". Veterans Affairs. 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Veteran Small Business Certification". veterans.certify.sba.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA housing assistance". Veterans Affairs. 2024-04-11. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA life insurance". Veterans Affairs. 2024-06-20. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA pension benefits". Veterans Affairs. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "VA.gov Home". Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". www.familybirthrecords.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
- ^ Oliver, John William (1917-01-01). History of the Civil War Military Pensions, 1861-1865. University of Wisconsin--Madison.
- ^ Oliver, John William (1917). "History of the Civil War Military Pensions, 1861-1865".