As a former Military Spouse, it is my honor to partner with DAV to share this message to help fellow Veterans find a resource to acquiring their Veterans Benefits and achieving Success in the next stage of their life. Thank you for supporting our veterans and the sponsors who help fight for their rights!
Once upon a time, the husband joined the US Army as a Military Police Officer. We were a young married couple with 2 very small children under the age of 2.
Our first duty station was in Germany. And while we were thrilled to finally have a career path and the opportunity to live in Germany; we quickly learned that there was a downside to military life we hadn’t anticipated – the paperwork!
If you think navigating life is hard, you should try it as a military family. The weeks of red tape you have to go through to get anything done.
The standard phrase is “Hurry up and Wait!” You have to hurry on your end. Then wait an eternity while the government takes its sweet time filing paperwork.
Add to that stress, many times paperwork gets lost, or it never got filed. Or someone in the chain of command just plain doesn’t want to do it and puts it off. All the while you are sitting waiting for something you needed last week!
The husband reported to duty in Germany right away. Our boys and I were left in Idaho waiting on paperwork. It was a good 2 months before we had the right paperwork in hand and we could finally join him!
We arrived and enjoyed a few short weeks of bliss before he was immediately shipped out on a deployment to Iraq for 15 months. Leaving me alone in a foreign country with 2 little children under the age of 2 where I knew no one and spoke very little German.
Military life is not easy. But it has its own perks of amazing communities and people that I treasure every day of my life.
Even though our life in Germany was difficult, I still look on that era in our life as one of the most cherished times in my life. I grew to love the culture, the people, the entire country and we can’t forget the food! Goodness, Germans know all about great food!
The relationships we built during our military career are still very dear to my heart. The fellow military families were our lifeline when we were so far away from home and family.
The Struggle to access Veterans Benefits
But when all is said and done, when military life is over and it’s time to reintegrate into civilian society it can be even harder!
All of a sudden, you still have to complete lots of paperwork, but you no longer have access to the military facilities that once sped up the process.
You find yourself needing your Veterans Benefits and unable to get the paperwork processed.
When my husband left the Army, he was able to use his GI Bill to go back to school and finish his degree. And that was a headache in and of itself to ensure we got access to his GI Bill every semester. Some semesters it was a battle to get the benefits we were promised.
Thankfully there is help for veterans to navigate the overwhelming process of getting access to the Veterans Benefits they were promised.
DAV (Disabled American Veterans) is a nonprofit organization that is on a mission to help veterans succeed after military service and get the Veterans Benefits they were promised. DAV helps veterans to be able to use their benefits and get help when needed.
My Husband served in the Iraq War. After which he suffered with PTSD and a rotator cuff injury in his shoulder.
When we left the Military he returned to school and acquired his Engineering Degree. He now works as a civilian with the US Air Force in Supply Chain and command.
The entire process of getting the husband’s disability pay and GI Bill benefits so he could return to school, was a long and tedious process on our own.
Had we known of DAV, life could have been much easier. But we discovered the program after the fact. And I don’t want others going through the struggles we did.
We now know that should we need help DAV will be in our corner. The last thing a military vet should have to worry about is getting the support and help he needs when going through a trying transition in life.
Someone who puts their life on the line every day of service deserves to have people in their corner who truly care about getting them the benefits they deserve.
Discover more Real Stories and Real Victories of fellow Veterans who have been able to find success thanks to DAV’s help!
My Husband is a Veteran of the US Army and his victory was earning his education and securing a promising career.
Visit DAV online to get support for the important Veteran in your life!
Tell me about the important Veteran in your life!
Did they struggle to acquire their Veterans Benefits?
DAV (Disabled American Veterans) is a non-profit organization that is on a mission to help America’s veterans achieve more victories. To learn more about DAV, visit dav.org.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DAV. The opinions and text are all mine. While I am proud to support DAV and their mission, I have not been a beneficiary of DAV services.