COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The activity load at the Branch County Veterans Affairs Office is overwhelming with more vets coming home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with disabilities. That’s the situation detailed in the local Veterans Affairs Department annual report. Branch County Veterans Counselor/Agent Charles Scott also says the assistance provided to veteran’s widows with pension claims has increased tremendously.
The VA Regional office in Detroit reports that Branch County expended nearly $21 million dollars last year, which is an increase of $1 million from 2013 in the aid going to 3,419 veterans and dependents. Of that total, Scott said local veterans and their families received $11.5 million in compensation and pension benefits, a $2 million increase compared to the year before. The VA also expended an additional $8.1 million in medical expenditures.
According to Scott, a reduction in American forces with veterans doing numerous tours makes the workload non-stop. Scott also stressed the great assistance and generous donations of the Veterans Service Organizations in Branch County and their Auxiliary units.
The county’s Veterans Affairs Committee members are Charles “Dwight” Green, World War II; Stacey Hapner, Afghanistan War; Dennis Hopkins, Iraq War; Marvin Merkle, Vietnam War; and Thomas Merkle, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan War.
