Providing a foundation for service.

A variety of information seminars at the 83rd National Convention provided delegates the necessary building blocks to create and improve service programs to help disabled veterans in their communities.

"We are pleased that so many of the DAV members and their guests attended the seminars," said National Adjutant Authur H. Wilson. "They took home a wealth of current information to enhance our service to veterans."

Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jay R. Vargas hosted the convention's leadoff Leadership Seminar. Vargas, a former Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, discussed what makes a leader and the inspiration needed to achieve goals through teamwork.

Vargas said there are three kinds of leaders: born leaders, those who learned to be leaders, and those who try, but really aren't leaders. He listed former President Harry Truman, General George Patton, and Apache Warrior Chief Geronimo among his list of born leaders. Those he considered learned leaders included Ronald Reagan and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

To be a leader, Vargas said people must be themselves. "Always set the example and raise your standards higher," he said. "Take care of your people and sacrifice for them. Never ask anyone to do what you wouldn't do."

Most importantly, Vargas cautioned delegates not to be afraid to make a decision. A retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, Vargas received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle of Dai Do in 1968.

A range of administration and congressional officials also spoke at seminars to update delegates on legislation, service, voluntary services, and other programs.

A standing room-only crowd attended the Benefits Protection Team Workshop conducted by DAV legislative staff, It offered the latest information concerning legislative issues affecting service-connected disabled veterans, their families and survivors. The Service and Legislative Seminar, hosted by National Legislative Director Joseph A. Violante and National Service Director Randy Reese, included VA and congressional officials who spoke directly to convention delegates about VA benefits and service issues affecting them.

VA Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health Operations and Management Dennis M. Lewis said that if DAV-supported mandatory funding had been approved by Congress that VA would have received a $7 billion increase in health care funding during fiscal year 2005. Currently, Congress is considering a $1.5 billion increase in health care funding, which the DAV considers inadequate to maintain current health needs.

Acting Deputy Secretary for Memorial Affairs Richard Wannamaker said every effort is being made to meet the needs of families of service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said that burial plots are being added to closed VA cemeteries by freeing plots reserved for veterans who were buried elsewhere or removing trees and shrubs. "No tree or bush is more important than a deceased veteran," he said.

Wannamaker said that 11 new VA cemeteries would be added over the next nine years to meet the needs of veterans' families. He explained that there are 1,000 funerals each day in VA cemeteries.

Delayed decisions by the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) were addressed by BVA Board Member Chuck Hogeboom, who said that decisions now take an average of six to seven months.

Hogeboom estimated the BVA will decide 30,000 cases in 2004, and expects the same number next year. "Cases of those aged 75 and older get advanced hearing dates," he said. "Those decisions are made in days rather than weeks."

National Director of Voluntary Services Edward E. Hartman noted during the VAVS Seminar that more than 17,000 DAV and Auxiliary volunteers provided 2.5 million hours of volunteer service for the VA.

Major League Umpire Larry Barnett entertained the packed room of delegates and guests with stories about Major League Baseball players. Barnett, who has made hundreds of visits to VA medical centers during his 26 years participating in the DAV Celebrity Entertainment Program, was praised by VA Voluntary Service Office Director Jim W. Delgado. "We value this partnership greatly," he said. "We thank the DAV for this commendable effort and significant generosity. We are the beneficiaries of all that."

Looking to the future, Delgado said the VA Voluntary Services Program has changed with the times. He said volunteers are needed to deal with veterans who are older, sicker, and poorer than the national average. "Recruitment and retention has been a major effort the last few years," he said. "We are focusing on younger volunteers, 20 to 40 year olds. In the next few years, one-third of our volunteers will be retiring." He estimated that 48% of VA volunteers are 65 and over, and VA must recruit as many as four volunteers for each one that retires.

Delgado said the VA's student volunteer program has become a priority, and the goal is to have 24,000 student volunteers.

"The Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship Program is one way the DAV is helping attract young volunteers," said Hartman. "The volunteer service of these young men and women is heartwarming and they have the opportunity to be recognized with one of our scholarships. All our previous recipients have displayed gratitude to our veterans for their service and sacrifice."

Delgado also recognized the DAV Transportation Network as "one of the greatest volunteer initiatives in the last 25 years." But he explained that more volunteers are needed, especially for health care in VA medical centers.

The VA's Center for Women Veterans Director Dr. Irene Trowell-Harris addressed the Women Veterans' Seminar on the center's initiatives and recommendations presented by the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. She also discussed legislation relating to women veterans, the process for accessing VA benefits and services, and the 2004 Summit on Women Veterans Issues, which was co-sponsored by the DAV.

The POW/MIA Seminar featured updates from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Jerry D, Jennings on missions to recover the remains of those missing in action, as well as VA benefits available to former prisoners of war. "Recovering the remains of Americans is a humanitarian issue," he said. "There is no greater debt owed by our government than to return loved ones to their families with honor."

"For as long as it takes, no matter what, no matter how much it costs, we'll return our POW/MIAs to you," he said.