From Military.com:
“'Space Force' Is Now Official
to the VA, but Not Everyone Is on the Same Page”
The Department of Veterans
Affairs has officially recognized the Space Force as a branch of the military,
nearly 2½ years after the service was established. The Space Force was created
on Dec. 20, 2019, when then-President Donald Trump signed the National Defense
Authorization Act. While the Space Force
was created in fiscal year 2020, Congress didn’t expand the definition of
“veteran” or make other changes to the law requiring VA to furnish benefits and
services to Space Force veterans until 2021. Now halfway through 2022, the VA
is announcing in a May 3, 2022, Federal Register posting, they have updated
their regulations to include the Space Force as a military branch.
Specifically, the existing legal
language defining the Armed Forces as “the United States Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, including their Reserve components” was
updated by adding “Space Force” to the list. While this announcement officially
recognizes the Space Force as an armed force within the Department of the Air
Force, it is merely a formality. There have been no reports of Space Force
veterans having been denied benefits as a result of their exclusion from
existing VA regulations. That doesn’t
mean that members of the military’s newest and smallest branch have not
encountered problems elsewhere. Guardians, and their families have long
reported encountering problems with acceptance; these issues range from
problems with Tricare to the inability to receive veterans discounts at major
retailers.
In an article in
MilitaryFamilies.com, one family reported being unable to book vacation lodging
at a Navy facility. The online booking system did not list "Space
Force" as an option. It took three telephone calls to rectify the
situation. Others who have transferred from another branch to the Space Force
have reported receiving separation and transition documentation from multiple
government agencies. Despite being the smallest branch of the U.S. military,
with approximately 8,400 personnel, the branch has an annual budget of nearly
$20 billion for 2022. The branch has six primary bases and seven smaller
stations. It also has facilities in Greenland, the United Kingdom, Ascension
Island and Diego Garcia.
^ It’s important to fix this
loop-hole so that there are no issues in the future. ^
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