For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Seminars counsel
departing soldiersQuestion: I'm getting close to my discharge date from the service and was wondering if the Veterans Affairs offers some sort of informational seminar or counseling before I get out.
Answer: Check with your command. Each month the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and Department of Labor conduct three-day transition assistance program seminars on Oahu's military bases for personnel within 90 days of separation or retirement. The TAP seminars provide a number of services to assist military personnel in making a smoother transition to civilian life. These services include employment assistance, such as resume writing and skills marketing; job referral; and other transitional services.
The VA's goal for TAP seminars is to ensure that service members are aware of their VA benefits and to provide assistance as needed. For those leaving active duty due to medical problems, the outreach effort is intensified to ensure a full understanding of the VA compensation process and vocational rehabilitation and employment programs.
The VA also operates a benefits delivery at discharge program that assists service members with development of VA disability compensation claims prior to their discharge. This helps with continuity of care between the military and VA systems, and expedites VA's processing of their application for compensation.
The goal of this program is to adjudicate claims as close to discharge date as possible by examining servicemembers under VA protocols as part of the discharge process. By comparison, VA's national average processing time is 233 days for all types of claims requiring a rating. Benefit counselors from the Honolulu VA take part in each TAP seminar. Again, if you within 90 days of separation, check with your command for the next TAP seminar date.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
