Donations both individual and post/district/department are not what is needed to help resolve the back-log of cases our Department Service Officers in the five area offices must deal with day-in-day out. They have never and may never be able to provide the quality care that your veteran’s deserve or that our nine DSO’s would desire. The referrals never stop or decrease. Turnover occurs because once trained, the opportunities for Certified Service Officers are too enchaining for the individuals with family obligation to ignore for the unrelenting requirements and only average pay.
Other Service Officer Programs have many times the number of staff but actually process fewer claims. With only nine Service Officer the VFW Missouri Service Officers represent 31% or more of the claims filed with V.A. which produces in excess of $124 million every year for VFW claimants’. Today our Service Officers have over 3000 claims pending for your veterans in the St. Louis office alone with an average number of new claims exceeding 1300 every month.
When we fail to provide the funds to operate the finest Service Officer Program in Missouri and perhaps the nation, we fail to help the Veterans in your area.
COMMANDERS / COMRADES, OUR FISCAL YEAR WILL SOON BE HALF-OVER AND WE ARE SO VERY FAR FROM OUR INTENDED GOAL OF $3.00 PER MEMBER THAT IS REQUIRED TO SUPPORT OUR PREMIER PROGRAM YOUR DIRECT SUPPORT IS NEEDED.
THIS MUST BE A PRIORTY OF EACH AND EVERY POST AND DISTRICT….LEADERSHIP IS ESSENTIAL IN PROMOTING THIS CONTINUING PROJECT.
DO NOT BE SHY!
“I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THIS DONATION FOR OUR VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER PROGRAM ON BEHALF OF OUR FELLOW VETERANS.”
Submitted by Dept of Mo Veterans Service Information Officer James Rippy