ABOUT VFA

Veterans for American (VFA), also known as Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), is uniting a new generation of veterans with those from past wars to address the causes, conduct, and consequences of war.

Veterans for America is an advocacy and humanitarian organization. The primary mission of VFA is to ensure that our country meets the needs of servicemembers and veterans who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). VFA focuses specifically on the signature wounds these conflicts: psychological traumas and traumatic brain injuries. VFA concentrates much of its attention on the needs of those who are currently serving in the military since the majority of those who have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are still in the military and under the care of the Department of Defense.

Each conflict brings with it new, devastating realities. Our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are marked by roadside bombs, a large inhospitable battlefield, inadequate dwell time, and the repeated deployment of a large number of troops. Together, these factors pose new challenges of an unprecendented magnitude to which the massive bureaucracies of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have been slow to respond.

Building upon the legacy of the Nobel-prize-winning Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), Veterans for America (VFA) unites the current generation of servicemembers and veterans with veterans from previous wars to address the needs of our men and women in uniform—both active-duty and Guard/Reserve—and their families. VFA’s mission is to ensure that the voices of those who have sacrificed immeasurably on behalf our country in recent years are heard and that support commensurate with their sacrifice is provided.

Wounded Warrior Outreach Program

VFA’s Wounded Warrior Outreach Program (WWOP) was created to address the staggeringly high levels of psychological and neurological injuries experienced by today’s troops and the lack of resources and programs to provide much-needed assistance.

WWOP reflects our belief that the best solutions to military policies and practices for treating these wounds begins with understanding the needs of our troops—working from the bottom up to identify problems and craft solutions.

Wounded Warrior Outreach

WWOP’s team of Servicemember Liaisons, composed of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans, visits military installations across the country and works one-on-one with returning troops who are suffering from psychological and mild, difficult to detect, neurological combat injuries. VFA’s policy and communications team conducts follow-up visits to military bases across the country to meet with military leaders to discuss trends in treatment identified by WWOP’s Servicemember Liaisons.

Upon completion of our work on a base, WWOP creates a detailed report with our findings, along with immediate and long-term policy proposals.

Read More About Our Wounded Warrior Outreach Program

Wounded Warrior Registry

At the core of our work is a widely accessed internet-based Wounded Warrior Registry where servicemembers tell us their stories. From this registry, VFA identifies trends in treatment and bases that demand attention. Our registry is staffed round-the-clock by OIF and OEF veterans who can assist servicemembers and their families.

Our Wounded Warrior Registry

National Guard Program

VFA is undertaking a state-by-state examination of the effects of deployments on National Guard citizen Soldiers, their families, their communities, their employers, and the national security of our country.

VFA provides hands-on assistance to our Guard members and their families, as well as feedback to Guard and state leaders regarding changes that need to be implemented and programs that are working effectively.

Between now and President Bush’s last day in office, nearly half of the Soldiers deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan will be citizen Soldiers from the Army National Guard. The heavy reliance on the National Guard in OEF and OIF is unprecedented in the history of the all-volunteer force and the stresses created are considerable.

Read More About Our National Guard Program

National Guard Outreach

VFA has deployed its team of Servicemember Liaisons and policy experts to National Guard headquarters and communities across the country to work with families of deployed troops and community leaders. VFA has attended musters and visited bases and Family Assistance Centers, where National Guard citizen Soldiers are preparing to deploy to OIF and OEF—or from which they have recently deployed.

National Guard State Websites

VFA’s National Guard Program is building one-stop, state-specific webpages for each state in which we work. These websites will include contact information for all state Family Assistance Centers, other support services for family members of deployed National Guard troops, U.S. House and Senate offices, the Office of the Adjutant General, PTSD centers, and private services that have been created for families and servicemembers. These websites will also be places for troops and their families to share stories and information and to read the latest news regarding the deployment of their loved ones.

VFA’s DoD Policy and Legislative Agenda

VFA works closely with military leaders and members of Congress to ensure that the needs of our servicemembers and their families are well understood and that policies and legislation are implemented to better support our troops and their families as they cope with the effects of multiple deployments, high-intensity combat, inadequate dwell time, as well as sub-standard post-combat care and family support.

Working on a bipartisan basis, VFA has shaped and supported a variety of measures in recent years that will better the lives of servicemembers and their families, including improved pre- and post-deployment screening for psychological and neurological wounds; increased dwell time; a comprehensive examination of the needs of OIF and OEF servicemembers and veterans; and compensation for servicemembers who have been stop-lossed.

Read More About Our Legislative Agenda

VFA’s American Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Survival Guide

VFA has brought together three co-authors of the bestselling “The Viet Vet Survival Guide,” as well as former VA analysts and military and legal experts, to create a 21st-century survival guide that includes vital information for servicemembers and veterans from our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book presents in three parts—”Veterans and Their Families”; “Special Non-VA Programs, Opportunities and Problems”; and “Issues Related to Active Duty Servicemembers and their Families”—information every returning servicemember and family member needs to know to best serve as their own post-combat advocate. The guide is available, without charge, through the VFA website.

Download Our Survival Guide

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