Those who have served in the military have a good, if general, understanding of what it takes to be classified as a veteran. Others, however, do not always know or understand what veteran status requires. Are Reservists veterans? What about the National Guard? What is the definition of a veteran, and what types of veterans are there?
Benefits
There are situations where 100% disability pay is not enough to provide a quality standard of living for disabled veterans. For those veterans, the VA offers an additional benefit called “special monthly compensation.”
These days, most honorably discharged veterans are entitled to military funeral honors in recognition of their service to their country. Honoring active and former members of the armed services is a long-standing tradition, but it is only in recent years that veterans have been given a legal right to have their status recognized at death with military funeral honors.
DIC is a tax-free monetary benefit generally payable to a surviving spouse, child, or parent of service members who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, or to survivors of Veterans who died from their service-connected disabilities. Parents DIC is an income-based benefit for parents who were financially dependent on of a service member or Veteran who died from a service-related cause.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes all same-sex marriages without regard to a Veteran’s state of residence.
DIC is a tax-free monetary benefit generally payable to a surviving spouse, child, or parent of service members who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, or to survivors of Veterans who died from their service-connected disabilities. Parents DIC is an income-based benefit for parents who were financially dependent on of a service member or Veteran who died from a service-related cause.
The U. S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs has a Center for Women Veterans (CWV) and Women Veterans Call Center to assist the many women who have served in the military. The site has links to health information, benefits, resources for women veterans and outreach.
Service members and Veterans may be eligible for a variety of benefits ranging from health care, education benefits and financial compensation.
Arizona announced it has launched a new website to assist students of military families.
Read more: Arizona Launches Website to Assist Students of Military Families
In order for a veteran to obtain the benefits to which they are entitled, they must first complete the correct form.
Before submitting a claim for any benefits, the veteran must have their Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or DD-214. Veterans or their family members can request a certified copy of this form by submitting Form SF- 180 to the National Archives. It is also easy to request the records online, at http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/.
The Arizona Military Family Relief Fund is a state sponsored program authorized by a statute (A.R.S. § 41-608.04) to assist service members, veterans, and families of Arizona service members who are deployed outside the United States. It helps families of Arizona veterans who were injured while deployed as well as families of service members killed in action.