Veterans service officer is coming to a location near you Bronson FL

Veterans service officer is coming to a location near you

By Lou Elliott Jones

BRONSON — If you are a military veteran Mike Engle wants to meet you.

He’s recruiting, but not to send folks back into military service, he’s looking for veterans to help them claim any services they are entitled to from the Veterans Administration.

Engle is the Levy County Veterans Service Officer and with his staff of two he helps veterans file claims and get transportation to the VA Clinic in Gainesville.

And with economic hardship hitting many veterans, Engle has seen an uptick in a request for services.

“We are seeing some veterans who would not have filed a claim before saying give it to someone else who is worse off than me, come in to file a claim,” Engle said.

The Veterans Administration says there are 5,000 veterans living in Levy County, and there are those snowbirds who are also veterans living here part of the year. Engle has made contact with about 2,500 veterans. He said the VA, while telling him how many veterans live here does not provide him with names and addresses so he can contact them.

That’s part of the challenge of his job, finding the other 2,500 or so veterans
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