I’m not sure how many veterans in our community know that there is a veteran organization located at the old Brunswick Naval Air Station that is open five days a week whose purpose it is to help veterans and their families.  Quoting from their website: “The Mid-Coast Veteran’s Council (MCVC) is a non-profit organization whose objective is to work in cooperation with all Veterans’ organizations and agencies to better the lives of our Veterans and their families within our community. Whether you are a Veteran, Active Duty, National Guard, or Reservists, our goal is to facilitate a connection with local, state and national programs that can provide them with any assistance needed.” The MCVC is membership organization whose members are veteran organizations or organizations that support veterans. Our American Legion Post 36, our Boothbay Veterans Emergency Temporary Shelters (V.E.T.S.), Maine Veterans in Need (MVN), along with a number of veteran service organizations in the mid-coast area are members. 

The Council operates the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) located on P-3 Park on Brunswick Landing, the old Brunswick Naval Air Station. The VRC hosts a number of organizations that support veterans. The Retired Activities officer (RAO) has an office in the facility. A major function of the RAO is to help widows/widowers navigate the VA system to ensure they receive all their earned VA benefits. The VBA (VA Benefits) holds office hours several times during the month as does the VFW service officer. So, if you want to file a claim and don’t want to go to Togus, you can do that directly with the VA or with the VFW Service Officer at the VRC. The VRC has a conference room that is available for veterans’ groups, an area to hang out and enjoy coffee or a soft drink, volunteers that can help with questions or help with computers, printers, downloading forms, scanning documents, and so forth. Volunteer staff keep the VRC open M-F 9 a.m.-4 p.m. If you are in the area, drop in and check it out. Or make an appointment by calling 207-406-4103. Their website is www.mid-coastveteranscouncil.org.

This Monday, March 4 at 3 p.m. is the Maine Veteran Coordinating Committee meeting held via Zoom. I mention this meeting frequently in these articles because I am encouraging everyone interested in veteran issues and what is happening in the VA to attend. You can just Zoom in and listen or be proactive and ask questions. Go to www.maineveteransinneed.us and just click on the link to join the meeting. 

The next Post meeting is Monday, April 11 with dinner at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting at 6.