VFW Advocacy

1. VFW, SVA Announce 2025/2026 Legislative Fellowship Selectees

   WASHINGTON -The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), together with Student Veterans of America (SVA), is pleased to announce its selection of six student veterans to complete the 2025/2026 VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship. Now in its 12th year, student veteran fellows gain experience advocating for a solution to a pressing veterans' issue by engaging leaders within their local communities, through social networking and in the halls of Congress.

   "Veteran advocacy is just as important today as it was back in the Bonus March days," said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore. "As a team that spans generations, it's up to us to ensure we receive the benefits we earned and were promised. Through the VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship, we equip emerging veteran advocates and leaders with the tools they need to develop sound advocacy plans and carry them through to action," Whitmore continued. "I'm so proud of this partnership with SVA because our fellows will help amplify the veteran's voice on Capitol Hill."

   The VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship is a roughly semester-long immersive experience through which fellows receive advocacy training and mentorship from each organizations' professional staff, create community outreach plans, and actively engage community and national leaders on a shared VFW and SVA policy priority. To qualify for the fellowship, student veterans must be a VFW member, be currently enrolled in an accredited college or university program, write an essay conveying the importance of veteran advocacy, submit a video detailing why they are a good fit for the program, and complete an interview.

   "The VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship prepares the next generation of veteran advocates - student veterans who turn lived experience into actionable, bipartisan policy," said SVA National President and Chief Executive Officer Jared S. Lyon, a VFW Post 3308 Life member in Tallahassee, Florida. "Together with the VFW, we're training leaders who research, build and brief real solutions on Capitol Hill, and they're already shaping outcomes for our community. As a proud VFW Life member and SVA's president & CEO, I see in every fellow the future of veteran advocacy: informed, disciplined and unafraid to lead."

   The six fellows selected for the 2025/2026 class are:

   • Shadic Anderson, Marine Corps veteran, California State University
   • Juanita Murillo Garcia, Army veteran, Northeastern University
   • Giancarlo Gonzalez, Army veteran, St. Petersburg College
   • Kimmie Kim, Navy veteran, Vanguard University of Southern California
   • Austin Lawrence, Navy veteran, Harvard University
   • Sarah Lively, Air Force veteran, Concordia University

   New this year, fellows will now participate in the SVA Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 15-19, 2025, where they will receive comprehensive leadership training alongside SVA's top chapter leaders. In January 2026, the cohort will attend SVA's 18th Annual NatCon before heading to Washington, D.C., at the end of February to participate in the VFW's annual Washington Conference. During the VFW's conference, fellows will join with VFW advocates from their respective states to discuss the shared VFW-SVA policy priority with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill. This culminating experience enables fellows to employ the skills they learned throughout their fellowship to affect meaningful policy change as students and as future leaders.

   Operating for more than a decade, the VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship continues to be a beacon of collaboration between two organizations whose passions are rooted in serving veterans. Student veterans who complete this program often continue to make noteworthy local and national contributions to the veteran community through myriad roles including those in leadership, service and advocacy. Notable program alumni include, but are not limited to, SVA's very own Vice President of Government Affairs, Tammy Barlet; Jennifer Ross, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Manager of Federal Policy; Katherine Cassell, VFW Assistant Director for Veterans Health Policy; and Ken Wiseman, member of VFW's National Council of Administration and National Legislative Committee.

   To interview any of the selected fellows, contact VFW National Legislative Service Associate Director, Joe Grassi, at jgrassi@vfw.org.

   About SVA:With a focused mission on empowering student veterans, Student Veterans of America® (SVA) is committed to providing an educational experience that goes beyond the classroom. Through a dedicated network of nearly 1,600 on-campus chapters in all 50 states and 4 countries representing more than 750,000 student veterans, SVA aims to inspire yesterday's warriors by connecting student veterans with a community of like-minded chapter leaders. Every day these passionate leaders work to provide the necessary resources, network support, and advocacy to ensure student veterans can effectively connect, expand their skills, and ultimately achieve their greatest potential. For more information, visit us at studentveterans.org.
   

2. VFW to Washington Post - Veterans' Disability Benefits are Not 'Loopholes' to Exploit

   To the Editors of The Washington Post,

   Your recent article, "How some veterans exploit $193 billion VA program, due to lax controls" (October 2025), is not just a disservice to veterans - it is a dangerously misleading piece that feeds into damaging stereotypes and ignores both the moral and legal foundations of the Department of Veterans Affairs disability system.

   Let's be absolutely clear: veterans' disability benefits are not charity. They are compensation owed for injuries and conditions incurred in the line of duty - promised by a government that asked men and women to risk their lives and health, often irreversibly, on its behalf. These benefits are not some "loopholes" for opportunists to exploit; they are the very least this country can do for the people it sent to war repeatedly, especially after more than two decades of sustained conflict without a draft.

   Your article leans heavily on inflammatory anecdotes and edge cases, portraying veterans as system abusers, while ignoring the structural reality: combat wounds are not the only occupational hazards of military service. The daily grind of service - exposure to toxic environments, repeated concussions, sleep deprivation, moral injury, sexual trauma, constant stress, and grueling physical demands - leaves lasting scars. Just because a veteran wasn't blown up by an IED doesn't mean they aren't disabled.

   Invisible injuries like PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and toxic exposure-related illnesses are not "new" or suspect; we just finally stopped ignoring them. Every generation of veterans before this one suffered in silence, and many died without care or acknowledgment. To now say that recognizing these conditions is proof of fraud is not only illogical - it is cruel.

   The article also seems to misunderstand how VA disability ratings work. The system doesn't compensate based solely on whether someone can work. It compensates based on how a service-connected condition impairs a veteran's average ability to function in life and society. The fact that a veteran can hold a job doesn't mean their disability doesn't make daily life harder, more painful, or more isolating. If VA ratings were based solely on complete incapacity, we wouldn't see skyrocketing rates of veteran suicide, addiction, homelessness, or divorce - all of which are fueled not by fraud, but by the very real and too often dismissed cost of military service.

   Lastly, let's not ignore what this article really reflects: veterans make an easy scapegoat for the elites of this country. We're a small percentage of the population. Many Americans are disconnected from the wars they authorized or ignored. It is politically and socially convenient to question the integrity of veterans rather than confront the true cost of 25 years of war. But the cost is real. And the obligation to those who bore it is not optional.

   If your investigative team wants to find waste and fraud, start with the contractors who overbill, the generals who fail upward, the executives of squandered programs, or the politicians who wave flags while gutting oversight. But don't you dare turn on America's sons and daughters who carried the burden of service and now ask only for the care and compensation they were promised.

   We veterans kept our end of the agreement and will continue to demand that those who asked us to defend our nation do the same. Honor The Contract.

   Sincerely,
   Carol Whitmore
   VFW Commander-in-Chief
   
   Read Washington Post article How some veterans exploit $193 billion VA program, due to lax controls.

3. VFW Calls on VA to Honor Supreme Court Ruling on GI Bill Benefits

   KANSAS CITY, Mo. -With the fall semester underway, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW) is once again leading the charge to ensure all veterans receive the full educational benefits they have earned - especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Rudisill v. McDonough.

   Last year, the Supreme Court sided with veterans, ruling that those eligible under both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill are entitled to the full measure of benefits under both programs, up to the 48-month cap. The decision rejected a long-standing Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) policy that forced veterans to forfeit one set of benefits if their service was continuous, rather than interrupted by a break.

   Despite the Court's clear decision, VA issued guidance late last year through its "2024 Education Directives," that continues to deny or limit access to earned benefits. The new rules wrongly impose a "break in service" requirement, block the transfer of benefits to dependents in certain cases, refuse to extend deadlines for dependent usage, and offer no retroactive relief to veterans and families harmed by prior unlawful policies.

   "These new rules directly contradict the Supreme Court's decision on what veterans have earned through honorable service," said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore. "We will not stand by while bureaucrats strip away what the Court - and Congress - have already promised. Veterans and their families have planned their futures around these benefits, which is why VA must honor this contract."

   To challenge these unlawful directives, the VFW has joined a new lawsuit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, alongside the Commonwealth of Virginia, and individual veterans, including the original petitioner, James Rudisill. The lawsuit seeks to strike down VA's directives by reinforcing the Supreme Court's decision, ensuring veterans and their dependents receive access to all education benefits they are rightfully owed.

   In its initial response to the lawsuit, VA sought to remove VFW as a petitioner, suggesting that the VFW did not have veterans affected by the decision. Though the VFW has already secured affidavits from affected members to refute this motion, the organization is asking all VFW members affected by VA's erroneous interpretation of the Rudisill decision to come forward and submit their stories to legal@vfw.org.

   "If you or your family were counting on these education benefits this fall and suddenly found yourself left out, we want to hear from you," said Whitmore. "Your story is important, and it could help make sure no veteran is left behind."

   To read the official court petition, click here.

4. VA Processing Claims at a Faster Pace

   With more than one million disability claims filed since the spring, the VA is on pace to process 2.5 million of them by year's end. This surpasses VA's 2024 output by half a million, according to a VA press release.

   The VA's Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which handles the Department's disability compensation claims, announced in late February that it had reached the one million mark of completed claims two weeks earlier than in 2024. This also occurred while VA saw a 16 percent increase in filed applications.

   "The VFW applauds any improvement in VA providing veterans, family members and survivors with their hard-earned benefits as quickly and accurately as possible," VFW National Veterans Service Director Michael Figlioli said.

   Like many at VFW, Figlioli believes the steady rise in claims is inextricably linked to the PACT Act passing in 2022, which expanded health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.

   "The historic passage of the PACT Act has been life-saving for many veterans," Figlioli said, "whether that is submitting new or previously denied disability compensation claims, or allowing veterans access to VA health care systems and other VA benefits programs."

   In May, the VA reinstated mandatory overtime for its VBA employees to reduce its backlog of 200,000 applications and maintain a record pace.

   The American Federation of Government Employees reported that VA's Veterans Service Representatives (VSRs) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs) are expected to log 25 hours of mandatory overtime each month. By comparison, its Rating Quality Review Specialists (RQRSs) are required to work 20 hours of overtime.

   VFW URGES CAUTION
   This VA decision followed another in which the sprawling agency has proposed trimming its workforce through natural attrition, a goal supported by the Trump Administration.

   "VFW hopes that while the VA aims to process more claims than ever and further reduce the declining excess workload, any mandated overtime or additional workforce reductions must be implemented wisely and strategically," Figlioli said.

   This article is featured in the 2025 September/October issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

5. VFW Elects First Female Commander-in-Chief

   Carol Whitmore of Iowa made VFW history in August when she was elected as the first female VFW Commander-in-Chief. Incidentally, she also is the first Iowan to hold the top position.

   A member of VFW Post 9127 in Des Moines, Iowa, Whitmore hopes her gender takes a backseat to the pressing needs of the nation's veterans - needs VFW prioritizes with regularity. With that in mind, it is little wonder Whitmore's slogan: "For Veterans, By Veterans," is meant for all veterans.

   "I am a veteran who happens to be a female," Whitmore said. "The position of VFW Commander-in-Chief should always be about merit regardless of whether the person holding it is a man or a woman."

   Whitmore said during her tenure as Chief that she wants to focus on carrying out the original mission of the VFW.

   "It is what we should all be doing," she added. "And that is truly making a difference and an impact on our fellow veterans' lives."

   'LITERALLY THE CAMARADERIE'

   A spur-of-the-moment decision in 1977 started Whitmore on the path to her own veteran status. With one year of community college and two years at the University of Northern Iowa under her belt, Whitmore ran out of money for college.

   "I did not want a big debt," she recalled. "So I walked into an Army recruiter's office. It was literally that quick of a decision for me. They said, 'You have three years of college, yes, come on in!' Joining was initially about college but became about country. It was literally the camaraderie and serving my country. That is what kept me in for 36 years."

   Whitmore will tell you that she followed in the footsteps of both her 6-foot-4-inch farmer father who was an Army MP in Germany during WWII, as well as her 5-foot-4-inch mother, who was a nurse.

   While Whitmore did not intend on staying in the Army for so long, she did so with the hope of one day getting to deploy.

   "It wasn't until I had more than 30 years that I got to deploy," she said. "My last hope of deployment finally happened. I turned 55 years old in Iraq."

   The Chief said she did not feel like she had truly served until she was deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq in 2010 with the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. While Whitmore had been mobilized quite a bit stateside and also in Central America, this deployment was a first, and for her, long overdue.

   "I felt like I had not done my duty," she added. "This was a logistics type unit, something I had never done. They needed one medical person to go with them, and I was it."

   In Iraq, Whitmore said she was "very fortunate," as it was toward the end of the war. Her responsibility was to process reports regarding disease and injuries within her command.

   "It was not a lot of big medical care," she said. "However, keeping track of people is still important. I also consider myself fortunate to have been on an Air Force base because they take very good care of their people."

   Whitmore returned home in 2011 and retired with 36 years of military service in 2013.

   'THEY NEVER QUESTIONED THAT I WAS A VETERAN'

   While Whitmore's husband, Brad, had long been a VFW Life member, she did not know that much about the organization other than she was not eligible until her Iraq deployment.

   That all changed when a fellow nurse invited Whitmore to stop in and check out Post 9127 in Des Moines.

   "I became a Life member immediately," Whitmore said. "It was such a good experience walking through those doors and the way people welcomed me. They never questioned that I was a veteran. To me, that was the pivotal moment of joining because they didn't assume that I had not served."

   From that moment on, Whitmore was an active VFW member serving first as a Post trustee and then adjutant. For many years, she served as adjutant while Brad was the quartermaster.

   Today, she maintains her Gold Legacy Life membership at the Post where she first began.

   She held positions at VFW's District and Department levels, which put her on the road to becoming the first female commander in the history of the VFW Department of Iowa in 2018. As Department commander, she earned All-American honors.

   On the national level, Whitmore has served on the Legislative Committee, the General Resolutions Committee and on the National Council of Administration from 2019 to 2023.

   'BRING THEM ALL HOME'

   Whitmore said that advocacy, the work of VFW Accredited Service Officers and the POW/MIA mission are the focus of her year as Chief.

   "I think it is important to get back to what our original mission is," she said. "Programs are wonderful, and they keep us going, but we were not founded on programs. We were founded on advocacy, sitting on the D.C. steps. VFW's National Legislative Service is where we get our business done, and that is how we best take care of our fellow veterans."

   Specifically, Whitmore noted VFW's ongoing fight against so-called "claim sharks," who make it a practice to rob veterans of their earned benefits.

   Another priority is the Major Richard Star Act, which would benefit those medically retired with less than 20 years. Getting it approved is a legislative initiative that Whitmore said VFW will continue to put its full might behind.

   "We need to continue our work on Capitol Hill to make sure veterans are not taken advantage of and that they are given the benefits that we were all promised and deserve," she said. "VFW makes one of the biggest impacts on Capitol Hill - more than any other organization."

   Reflecting on her official VFW visit to Vietnam last year to observe the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Whitmore said her eyes and heart were "re-opened" to what the families of the missing deserve.

   "We need to bring everyone home," she said of the more than 83,000 Americans still unaccounted for. "I know it's been said many times, but let's bring them all home. These families need and deserve closure."

   'A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE'

   Whitmore reiterated that while her year as Chief should not be about gender, she does believe more female vets will take notice and join the VFW and vie for top leadership positions.

   "Women need to feel they belong here if they are eligible," Whitmore said. "There are so many out there who feel undervalued and underappreciated and under voiced in a lot of different aspects. I am hopeful that they see that anybody who feels undervalued as a veteran should belong."

   Whitmore said part of the reason she became a nurse is that she enjoys taking care of people. In her position at the helm of the organization, she will work to make sure her fellow veterans have the lives they deserve.

   She also believes that her status as VFW's first female Commander-in-Chief is something the organization's founders would support.

   "Getting to go back to the VFW National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, where it all began is pretty special," Whitmore concluded. "I hope the founders would say, 'Okay, this is a good change.' It should never be, 'It's about time there's a female commander-in-chief.' It should be about this is a change, a different perspective about what the VFW is and what the VFW looks like now and in the future."

   This article is featured in the 2025 September/October issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.