The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is the primary source of federal information and resources for veterans, of course. Its website is well arranged to show the huge variety of information and benefits available to veterans. Veterans should always start with the VA website. However, not all answers can be found on the website and the VA is a huge, unwieldy, often incompetent, usually uncaring, and always aggravating bureaucracy. Tip 1: It’s almost always better to look someone in the eye rather than try to solve a problem by phone, mail, email, or online forms. All large cities and many smaller cities and towns (even Statesboro, GA) have  local VA offices; use them. Tip 2: Many veterans-oriented charitable organizations include as one of their missions helping veterans navigate the VA labyrinth to get their rightful benefits ; e.g., see the VFW’s VA Claims & Separation Benefits page.

The National Archives are a close second for veterans’ information, as well as a general source for all things governmental. For veterans’ records try https://www.archives.gov/veterans.

Million Veterans Program (MVP) is a VA program, it’s free, and does some good for veterans. Just sign up.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of America is the oldest organization in America focused on Veterans, according to their About Us page. They seem to live up to their motto, “No one does more for veterans.” Their web site is well developed and organized and has good information for veterans, particularly their Assistance and Advocacy pages. They have programs to address many needs directly and offer links to even more resources. Their VA Claims & Separation Benefits page is particularly useful in helping veterans make their way through the VA maze.

The American Legion has some good programs and information, especially on their Services page.

U.S. Military Veterans and Addiction is a privately run website. An email from one of the founders says, “My name is Chris, and I’m a grateful recovering addict (17+ years) and the son (and grandson) of military veterans. I’m also one of the founders of the new website, AddictionGuide.com. Addiction Guide is one of the only educational websites founded by a recovering addict, an addict’s spouse, and a board-certified addiction doctor. Military veterans are at a higher risk of developing addictions and other mental health issues than civilians. The men and women veterans who served our country deal with many challenges from traumatic events. Some veterans try to cope or self-medicate by abusing alcohol or other addictive substances. While on active duty, military service members endure a lot of high-stress experiences, especially deployment and combat exposure. After they leave active duty, veterans often experience issues readjusting to civilian life. Many veterans struggle with post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD), some of them experience homelessness, and many of them turn to alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs to cope.” The website offers advice and resources to help veterans make those adjustments. It seems to have no other agenda and does not solicit contributions. If you find otherwise please tell the Webmaster.

Maryville University, a private school in St. Louis, has put together a College Guide for Veterans and Service Members with good general advice, tips, and links to other resources. (Please note: Posting of this link does not imply endorsement of Maryville University or any of its programs by this Association or any of its officers or members. However, Maryville has done a good job of pulling together a lot of useful information in this Guide and keeping it largely separated from any promotions of its own programs.) If you find otherwise please tell the Webmaster.