President Obama to Speak at National Convention for Disabled American Veterans

The National Convention of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is expecting a very important guest speaker this year.

President Obama will address DAV, one of the nation’s biggest veterans groups, on Aug. 2 in Atlanta, Georgia. The President will highlight an extensive list of accomplishments made by his administration in improving veterans’ programs, according to White House officials.

DAV, currently with 1.2 million members, has worked with the administration on various issues and was the only veteran service organization invited to speak at a recent news conference held by the Veteran Affairs (VA) Department. One of the pressing issues addressed at the conference was veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was there that VA revealed new guidelines for veterans suffering with PTSD.

Despite many collaborative efforts, DAV is still critical of the hardships facing veterans who are seeking treatment and assistance for service-related disabilities. A disabled veteran should be able to receive adequate care and assistance without hassle. Even with all of the programs intact designed to assist veterans, it seems as though disabled veterans benefits programs can be lacking.

In spite of imperfections, DAV’s national legislative director, Joseph Violante, praised the Obama administration for trying to improve things in the midst of piling claim backlog.

“There are reasons to be optimistic,” Violante said. “Over the past six months, with mounting pressure from DAV and other veterans’ service organizations, there has been a welcome increase in attention from Congress and the administration to problems with claims.”

President Obama will be the third president to appear before DAV since being chartered by congress in 1932. President Clinton spoke to the group in 1996 and President Ford spoke in 1976.

In addition to the new guidelines regarding veterans seeking PTSD treatment, the Department of Defense (DoD) has released a newly restructured military spouse career advancement account.