For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Iraqi war veterans
to get more screeningsQuestion: Has the Department of Veterans Affairs prepared differently for military personnel coming back from Iraq this time as opposed to 1991?
Answer: The VA has learned a lot from its experiences dealing with veterans of the first Persian Gulf war. Questionnaires and health surveys have been completed by the troops. Blood specimens have been banked -- not on all but on a significant number of troops deployed to the Gulf to know their health condition and health status before they were deployed. When they return, a post-deployment health follow-up will be conducted. Chemical and biological monitors are also being used more frequently in the Gulf today than they were back then.
Q: I heard about a Web site where I can download various VA forms so I don't have to make a trip to VA every time I need one. Is there such a Web site?
A: Go to www.va.gov/vaforms. The site can be searched using the form number, keywords, or title. Links to other useful Web sites with forms are also provided. Forms also are available at the VA center adjacent to Tripler Army Medical Center.
Q: Can I request a burial in a VA cemetery by utilizing the Internet?
A: No. But the person making burial arrangements should have the funeral home contact the national cemetery where the burial will be.
If possible, the following information concerning the deceased should be provided when the cemetery is first contacted: full name and military rank; branch of service; Social Security number; service number; VA claim number, if applicable; date and place of birth; date and place of death; date of retirement or last separation from active duty; and copy of any military separation documents, such as the Department of Defense Form 214.
The discharge documents must specify dates of active military duty and character of discharge such as release from active duty under other than dishonorable conduct. Viewing facilities are not available and funeral services cannot be done at VA national cemeteries, but a final committal service may be permitted.
For more information on burials at VA national cemeteries, contact either the VA at 433-1000 or the National Cemetery of the Pacific at 566-1430. Information is also available at www.va.gov/hawaii.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii
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.