September 6, 2006

Veterans Benefits Information Fair at Fort McCoy
Draws Hundreds
Veterans and Their Families Learn about Benefits and Services

(MADISON) – Close to 500 veterans, military retirees and their families attended a Veterans Benefits Information Fair at Fort McCoy on Friday, September 1, 2006, hosted by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA), as part of its "I Owe You" campaign and new "Mission: Welcome Home" initiative, in conjunction with the annual Fort McCoy Retiree Appreciation Day.

"There were veterans and family members here from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan," said Sec. Scocos.  "We had close to 500 attendees get information about federal benefits like VA health care, education, medals, and more.  Through 'I Owe You' and 'Mission: Welcome Home,'" Scocos said, "not only are we providing information to older veterans but at the same time we are reaching out to service men and women returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom."

The Veterans Benefits Information Fair (VBIF) is a “one-stop shop” where veterans and their families can apply for an array of federal and state benefits in one convenient location.  The event at Fort McCoy was a collaborative effort by the department, along with other agencies such as the Veterans Affairs Benefits Administration, VA Hospital in Tomah, veterans service organizations, County Veterans Service Officers, and the Fort McCoy Retirement Services Office.

Attended by 475 veterans, retirees, and their families, the fair took place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Rumpel Fitness Center in Building 1122, following the Retiree Appreciation Day activities at Building 905 during which WDVA Secretary John A. Scocos addressed attendees.

"Events like this have been very important to our goals of expanding the department's outreach to veterans at different locations statewide," Scocos said, "and it has worked out well at Fort McCoy with Retiree Appreciation Day, as well as attracting veterans from the surrounding area.  This VBIF was the best one by far."

Col. John Radke (U.S. Army, Ret.), Chief, Army Retirement Services, said, "This is a wonderful event, a great concept.  What is so convenient about a “one-stop shop” is that the benefits fair brings not only soldiers but veteran retirees, and also their spouses.  Everything is here."

A 46-year-old career military veteran from Sparta, Mark Braatz, came to the information fair with his wife.  Braatz said he retired in Sparta last year and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Persian Gulf War and the Balkans conflict.  "The information for me hasn't changed too much," Braatz said.  "We came here because we wanted to get our gravesites in advance."  His wife Brenda added, "A couple we talked to from Michigan who retired in 1969 said this was the first veterans benefits information fair they were to, and they didn't know how much things had changed since 1969."

One veteran who came to the Veterans Benefits Information Fair at Fort McCoy last September, in 2005, was 56-year-old Vietnam veteran Roger Rotzenberg, of Monroe County.  Rotzenberg came back to the fair in 2006 to say "thank you" to his County Veterans Service Officer Kathleen Gausmann, who assisted him with a claim last year.  "Just a year ago," said Rotzenberg, "I came in and you people helped me.  Agent Orange and Type II diabetes got me 20% disability, and I was getting $200 per month.  Last year Kathleen Gausmann helped me fill out forms right here.  I went back to the VA for a review of Agent Orange, and along with other conditions, I am now receiving 60% disability and am getting $954 per month.  The reason I'm here today is to talk to employers and see if I can start getting prescription drugs through the VA."

For more information about the "I Owe You" program, visit the WDVA website at: www.dva.state.wi.us/IOweYou.asp, contact a local County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO) or Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO), or call WDVA toll-free at 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387).