Chapter 103 News

V V A Chapter 103; V V A, NYSC and V V A National news and press releases are posted on this web page.





DoD to Open Online Exchange Shopping to Veterans

The Army, Air Force and Navy Exchange Services will allow Veterans to shop online beginning Veterans Day, November 11, 2017.

To qualify for the Veterans online shopping benefit, one must be an honorably discharged Veteran of the United States Armed Forces. Those Armed Forces include the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard as well as the Air Force Reserve, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve and National Guard.

Veterans must pre-register to utilize the AAFES online service. Eligibility will be determined by VetVerify, a shared verification service of the four military exchanges: AAFES, NEXCOM, MCX and CGX for the sole purpose of supporting the AAFES Veteran benefit.

Veterans may telephone 1-844-868-8672 to pre-register.

Veterans may also pre-register securely online at https://www.vetverify.org/index.xhtml.

Click here to view the secure home page of the AAFES shopping web site.

Note: This benefit is online only and does not provide on-base PX/BX access.


VVA, New York State Council Fall 2017 Issue of "Interchange Online"

Click on the image below to view the current issue of the NYSC newsletter.




Vietnam Veterans of America President, John Rowan, Commends VVA, Chapter 103 Leaders

During a recent VVA national convention, the President of Vietnam Veterans of America, John Rowan, recognized the service of and awarded VVA Achievment Medals to VVA, Chapter 103 President, Gordon Lane; and VVA, Chapter 103 Past President, Peter Bronstad.

Lane and Bronstad have given many years of outstanding service to the central New York State Veterans community. During those years, Lane and Bronstad have served in several Chapter 103 officer positions, also as Chapter Directors, staffed and lead committees and accomplished individual taskings. In addition, Lane and Bronstad serve as delegates to the Vietnam Veterans of America, New York State Council.






New York State Custom License Plates

The New York State, Department of Motor Vehicles offers a number of custom or affinity license plates of interest to Veterans. The license plates shown in minature below are but a sample. The available Veteran-specific categories include Branches of Military Service, Medals and Awards, Military and Veterans Communities, Wars and Battles.

The application, required supporting documentation and the initial-periodic renewal fees vary.

Click here to view in-depth information regarding New York State custom license plates.




Military Service Records

Veterans (surviving spouses and specific next-of-kin) may request military service records from the National Archives.

In the past, Veterans could obtain military service records by obtaining, completing and submitting via the U.S. Postal Service a pre-printed Standard Form-180—an inconvenient, laborious and lengthy process, at best.

Advances in technology now allow The National Archives to provide on-line, facsimile, SF-180 or letter requesting of military service records.

For a full explanation of the current military records request process, click on the image below to view the National Archives Veterans Service Records web page.



Note: This article will eventually be removed and replaced, but links to the National Archives are always maintained on the VVA, Chapter 103 "Home" and "Veterans Links" web pages.






The Paper Safe



From the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. web site: when a Veteran dies or becomes unable to make important decisions, family all too often cannot locate the financial and personal information required to carry out the final wishes or intentions of that Veteran.

The "Paper Safe" was created to organize and record that information in one document. A will or trust, notwithstanding, a completed Paper Safe can greatly help survivors during a stressful time.

The AVVA Paper Safe is linked below in two versions: (1) An Adobe file to be printed and then completed while off-line. (2) A fillable Adobe file to be completed and printed while on-line.



Paper Safe Document (1)		Paper Safe Document (2)
22 Page, Printable Blank Copy		22 Page, On-Line Fillable Copy
Complete Off-Line		Complete On-Line & Print




NYS Veterans—Official New York State Veteran App

The New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs offers comprehensive guidance as regards New York State Veterans benefits and services. The recent release of the "NYS Veterans—Official New York State Veteran App(lication)" supplements those services.

The app, produced by the New York State Office of Information Technology Services, is available free for the downloading in Android and Apple specific versions. Click on the appropriate image below to view the Google Play Store or the Itunes description-download-installation web page appropriate to your digital device.