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VA 'benefits ninjas' set up Tinker shop

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  • By John Parker
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Randy Reynolds, a veteran service representative with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, doesn't argue with the notion that he and his colleagues seem a lot like bureaucratic ninjas when it comes to slashing the way clear for veteran benefits.

"You've got 33 ninjas -- that's what I tell my veterans," Mr. Reynolds said. "Having someone that knows the process, the red tape and the 'gotchas' is hugely important to a vet, and success for those veterans is basically that paperwork."

Mr. Reynolds' job is to work closely with any of Oklahoma's 340,000 veterans to secure their earned federal and state benefits. And all of their services are free.

In a Tinker Air Force Base outreach that began in February, an ODVA representative is available every Friday, except holidays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Room 113 break room at 72nd Air Base Wing headquarters Bldg. 460.

Since starting the outreach in February, Mr. Reynolds has helped process more than 130 claim actions and is eager to do more. He's aided people ranging from a recently widowed spouse with her young children tagging along to veterans changing an address.

ODVA representatives stand out because they're trained and accredited by the VA to know how the system operates and what will get a claim moving, Mr. Reynolds said. With a power of attorney granted by a veteran, the VSRs also can access the department's computer records to "see exactly what the VA is looking at," he said. 
Another advantage: They don't work for the VA and can fight for rejected claims in veterans' behalf.

"Our guys are all advocates for veterans," ODVA spokesman Shane Faulkner said. "They are fighting for that claim and working their tails off making sure that they're getting every benefit that they're entitled to. You're not going to get that anywhere else."

Mr. Reynolds said VA training is a valuable asset when a difference of a word or two to describe a service-related medical diagnosis can result in a claim succeeding or failing. ODVA representatives also know the best approaches to work with the VA.

"My goal is to take the emotion out and put the facts in," Mr. Reynolds said. "The VA is extremely busy, and I don't want the veteran to write paragraphs, lots of words, because if they're not getting the story across in the first two or three sentences, they're probably going to lose the VA rater that's reading it."

The ODVA representatives also welcome contact from family members with a veteran located off-base. Representatives travel statewide to serve Oklahoma's veterans from all military branches.

"We deal with a lot of vets from World War II, Korea and Vietnam wars that cannot leave the house because they just medically can't for some reason," Mr. Reynolds said. "We'll go over to their house and do whatever paperwork needs to be done."

Mr. Faulkner encourages veterans or their family members to apply for and receive all the benefits that the American people want them to have.

Need veteran benefits help?
▪ An Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs representative is available in Room 113, Bldg. 460, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday, except holidays. Contact the ODVA at 521-3684, visit www.ok.gov/odva or email bwhite@odva.state.ok.us.

▪ For other VA benefit information, call the base's VA intake site at 582-6096.  For active-duty Air Force, Guard and Reserve members that are separating or being medically boarded due to a severe injury or illness, contact Tony LeGree, Air Force Recovery coordinator, at 582-6490.