# VA Service Connected Veterans



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

About 3 million more people will soon be eligible to shop at military stores, officials are working to make sure these new customers will have access to bases, and that the shelves will be stocked.

Starting Jan. 1, all service-connected disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and primary veteran caregivers will be eligible to shop at commissaries and exchanges, and officials from three federal agencies are preparing the way.

The newly eligible customers will also be able to use certain morale, welfare and recreation activities.

It’s the largest patronage expansion in more than 60 years, said Virginia Penrod, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, who spoke at a recent meeting of the American Logistics Association.

Link https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-b...iRzatSnD9eOEFuuwswU6txOmbbp8Dcd-ouEZRtjT-Mbe8


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

Very informative article. Let me expand on this further. Don't get me wrong, I think all the service connected vets are entitled to all they can get. I am a non-connected vet that served in the Marines that got into the old system about 25 years ago before they changed the rules for qualification to get the VA health benefits. I got grandfathered through. Now the non-serviced connected vets can't get a lot of the benefits that are for the connected ones. We served our country just like all the rest but we were lucky not to get hurt or a disability while in the service. 

Art


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