Help Available For Veterans Seeking Bonus

Belinda Owens heard about the state of Ohio’s Veterans Bonus program and thought the application process should be a snap.

She was interested in it on behalf of her brother-in-law, Travis, who served in Operation Desert Storm.

Since the defense department already knew when he served overseas and that he met the criteria for the state bonus program, Belinda thought signing up for the bonus would be easy.

But then, nothing involving the government is easy.

“"It seems like it is more complicated than what I first thought,” Belinda said.

And Belinda is not alone.

The Montgomery County Veterans Services Commission in Dayton is fielding a lot of calls on the subject.

Jim Knowles, Executive Director of the agency said about a quarter of the callers to their office are seeking information about the bonus.

Veterans who served in Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan qualify for the bonus. The amount of cash they receive depends on how long they served.

Even Knowles admits getting all of the paperwork together to qualify may not be easy.

In that case, he said, help is available.

"If anybody feels like it is complicated all they need to do is come in and we will do it for them,” Knowles said.

Montgomery County Veterans Services can be reached at 937-225-4801.

Information is available on the state web site at veteransbonus.ohio.gov.

The bonus is limited to people who lived in Ohio at the time they left for military service and are still a resident of Ohio.

Other restrictions apply as well and are spelled out on the state web site.

Jim.otte@whiotv.com