New website offers Guard members greater access to benefits information

Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office

It's 2 a.m. on a sleepless night, and you want to check the status of a Veterans Administration disability claim related to your last deployment. A new one-stop website means you won't have to wait for the start of the workday to get the information you are looking for.

eBenefits - a VA web portal developed by the 2007 President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors - provides National Guard members and all veterans access to a catalog of direct links to information on services ranging from VA claims to education benefits and life insurance.

Jeffrey Unger, transition assistance advisor with the Wisconsin National Guard, enrolled in eBenefits in January.

"One of the things I like is it allows you, in the privacy and security of your own home, to get access to anything in the Veterans Benefits Administration," he said.

"It's a tool for personal information organization," said Vernell Hill, the National Guard Bureau Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System senior access control manager. "The sooner you get in and get up to date, the easier it is for everything to fall into line, especially in the event something unforeseen happens and your family needs information."

Hill said Guard members can sign up using one of four methods: with their common access card, through myPay, a defense enrollment eligibility reporting system real-time automated personnel identification system terminal, or go directly to the closest VA center for face-to-face assistance.

Service members with a common access card (CAC) will be directed to obtain an eBenefits logon either upon enlistment, reenlistment or by 2013, according to Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

"The DS [DOD Self-Service Logon] is a secure, self-service logon ID that allows beneficiaries affiliated with the DOD or the VA access to several websites using a single username and password," Stanley said. "DS Logon will allow all service members and veterans secure access through the eBenefits web portal to benefits information specifically tailored to their needs, for the lifetime of their affiliation with the DOD or VA."

Hill recommended that Guard members who are still part of the uniformed service use their common access cards to enter the system since it is easier.

"CAC registration is especially critical for our wounded warriors, since it may be more difficult to travel to a RAPIDS or VA site," he said.

Unger said that eBenefits will soon be even more useful to National Guard members. He noticed that the site linked mostly to the VBA or state veterans affairs departments. Based on his suggestion, the NGB will cooperate with the VA to quickly incorporate transition assistance advisor information for each state, as well as other veterans services provided by state National Guard organizations.

"This will provide direct access to a knowledgeable, in-state resource who will walk the transition process with them," Unger explained, "building their self-esteem and letting them know they are not the first, they won't be the last, and they are not alone in this process."

Tech. Sgt. John Orrell of the National Guard Bureau contributed to this report.