Members of the Singapore Area Coordinator (SAC) community received Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits training, Feb. 20-22, learning more about the vast range of benefits available to service members, veterans and their dependents.

A.J. Romero, a Veterans Affairs benefit advisor from Command Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan, provided the three-day training session consisting of hour-long group overview briefings and individual one-on-one counselings. The training sessions allowed SAC community members to receive detailed information on VA disability compensation, VA loans, education benefits, sharing benefits with dependents, and information on how to access these benefits.

"Developing a broad base of knowledge on available VA benefits is one of the most important things a service member needs to do prior to becoming a veteran because there are so many benefits available and a vast amount of information related to accessing these benefits," said Romero. "The benefits are there, you have earned them, and you deserve them, so we want to help make sure you can access and utilize them."

The combination of group training sessions and on-on-one counseling provided SAC community members the opportunity to gain a broad base of knowledge on all available benefits, then receive individually tailored guidance specific to their personal situations. The community's enthusiastic participation and high level of interest in the VA training sessions resulted in VA benefits advisors seeking to add SAC to the list of annually visited commands in the region.

"The response has been overwhelming, and that is a great thing," said Romero. "We have been fully booked with people wanting to come in for one-on-one briefings, so we will be looking to add this duty station as one that we come to every year to happily assist the community with accessing their VA benefits."

Romero stressed the importance of each service member, veteran and dependent doing personal research to learn everything they need to know in order to receive the full amount of benefits available to them.

"You need to know your benefits because we can give you the information, but you need to do your research and you need to access the benefits by filing your claims," said Romero. "Three specific websites I recommend are http://www.va.gov, http://www.vets.gov, and http://www.ebenefits.va.gov. These can help you learn about your benefits, tell you your eligibility, and you can actually download and file your claim right through http://www.ebenefits.va.gov."

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