Our office closed out 2024 with a joyful month of December, with 88 special deliveries of Christmas cheer made, including stopping at 10 assisted living and skilled nursing facilities throughout …
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Our office closed out 2024 with a joyful month of December, with 88 special deliveries of Christmas cheer made, including stopping at 10 assisted living and skilled nursing facilities throughout Pierce County. Covering just under 400 miles with good cheer throughout the trips, just in time for Christmas! These deliveries are truly what the holiday season means to the Pierce County Veteran Service Office. The smiles and surprised looks we get as these homemade treats are delivered are priceless to us, knowing we may have been their only visitor for the holiday season. That giving is truly our gift and keeps our passion alive.
We are setting our intentions quietly going into the New Year to be able to reach, teach and help even more of our veterans. Our office has been working diligently behind the scenes including the custom design of our new office space. It is a beautiful, peaceful and calm setting designed to improve and enhance the professional, confidential delivery of services.
Every Wednesday is “Walk In Wednesday.” Veterans may stop by, check out our new look and meet us. If there is an item requiring a brief answer or a signature or two, that can be addressed on Walk In Wednesday. We also offer other days of the week by appointment only (715-273-6753) in order to work most efficiently on behalf of our veterans.
What is a CVSO? (County Veteran Service Officer)
Maybe you served during WWII and suffered a knee injury. Possibly you served during Vietnam or Korea and were shot in the arm while serving. You were treated for your injuries at the time but many years later health related problems have surfaced. As a veteran serving in Vietnam you were exposed to Agent Orange and are now suffering from Prostate Cancer or Diabetes Mellitus Type II along with complications from that disease. Did you serve in Vietnam and now have high blood pressure? Or, if you are a returning veteran from the Gulf War, Operation Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF or OEF) who suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from a roadside bombing, or maybe you are a returning OIF or OEF veteran, who fortunately did not endure any trauma, but need direction in obtaining educational benefits under the GI Bill. Veterans or family members who served on active duty or resided at Camp LeJeune for 30 days or more between Aug. 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1987 may be eligible for VA health benefits for 15 conditions. Is there any help available to you through the VA? Where do you begin to seek assistance and obtain guidance in pursuing VA benefits? The answer is, your local County Veterans Service Office. If you have never registered with Pierce County Veterans Services, the first step is to call us for an appointment at (715-273-6753.) When you visit us, be sure to bring along your military discharge/DD214 (also called a Report of Military Separation) as this document is required to receive any VA benefits. If you have lost or misplaced this document, our office can assist you in how to obtain your DD214 and other military records through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
Under Wisconsin state law, every county is required to have a County Veteran Service Office. While often assumed to be federal or state employees, Wisconsin CVSOs are employed at the county level. Our office consists of a Service Officer, a Veteran Case Coordinator and other support staff. The County Veteran Service Officer and their staff take great care and compassion to ensure that each client is treated with dignity and respect, along with an understanding of the problems that affect veterans, widows, widowers and dependent children. Through monthly meetings and annual training, our Veteran Service Officer and Case Coordinator remain current as to laws passed by U.S. Congress in the interests of veterans and their dependents. The CVSO and Case Coordinator are familiar with the rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to clarify and implement those laws. County Veteran Service Officers are well-versed in state laws as well, from Property Tax Credit for eligible veterans to the Wisconsin GI Bill educational benefits for veterans and their dependents as applicable. We strive to keep veterans and their dependents informed of all pertinent information through the use of available technologies and actively work for the protection of veterans’ benefits. Veterans look to this office for assistance solving problems and answering questions that may arise.
We guarantee that each client receives the fullest measure of our ability to serve them as a veteran or their dependent. County Veteran Service Officers are like prosecutors or defense attorneys as they are always building a case for their clients. CVSO offices are staffed by accredited County Veteran Service Officers as well as staff who are accredited, trained to navigate a bureaucracy nearly as complex as a military campaign. Their jobs require tenacity and passion by each individual, with persistent determination to keep going until the goal is reached.
Our Pierce County Veteran Services Officer also acts as liaison between veterans and their families in obtaining benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Basically, the CVSO can take care of veterans’ needs from their date of discharge until their date of death, and in many instances the Service Officer provides assistance to eligible dependents long after the veteran passes away. The CVSO serves Pierce County as a strong advocate for our veterans, helping them to file claims, answer questions and most important, offering a listening ear when it is needed. County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) and Veteran Case Coordinators deal with a large variety of benefits and programs for veterans. When visiting the Pierce County Veteran Service Office you will be referred to the service officer or case coordinator. Frequently they work together to provide the best service to you when scheduling your office appointments. Our CVSO and Case Coordinator attend the most current training on the extent, the meaning and the application of laws that have been passed by the U.S. Congress in the interests of veterans and their dependents. Some items that we assist with in the office daily are:
There are some items that the Pierce County Veteran Services Office may only assist with on a very limited basis. They include:
County Veteran Service Offices are almost entirely funded by counties, despite the benefits work they engage in with the Department of Veterans Administration at the federal level. The office is funded in part by an operating grant from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, with the remainder of funding received from the Pierce County tax levy. It is an office which has one of the lowest operating budgets - yet brings in billions of federal dollars which are paid directly to veterans. We also help veterans receive billions of dollars in health care and other benefits which directly benefits the veterans of Pierce County.
The Pierce County Veteran Services Office is your at-home, back-to-the-community stop for our veterans who have served the nation, fighting its wars and keeping its peace. We are the local link in an intergovernmental chain serving the country’s 21.8 million veterans. CVSOs get the benefits to the veteran! The ultimate job of the CVSO is to simplify what can be a very complex undertaking; that of obtaining eligible benefits from the VA. As a veteran you served your country honorably and your local County Veteran Service Office wants to say “thank you” by ensuring you obtain all of the benefits to which you or your family members are entitled.