Veterans often have a wide variety of benefits available to them upon separating from service, but all too often they may not realize exactly what they're entitled to. This can be a significant source of frustration, so one servicemember took it upon himself to help make the process a bit easier. Wolfgang Ward created a website and corresponding app, the Benefits Report Corporation, which offers vets a personalized look at their benefits, according to The Monterey Country Herald.
The app requires very little work on the part of users. When veterans first download it, they have to fill out a short survey about their military history, and then the app provides them with a list of the benefits and services they're entitled to. These benefits can include well-known programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill as well as discounts at local business and corporations. Ward says it's important for vets to be familiar with their benefits before they disappear.
"There are tons of services out there," Ward told the newspaper. "If you don't utilize these services, they'll eventually go away because the government will quit funding them. The government is starting to check their pocketbook."
Ward's new app isn't the only piece of technology designed to help veterans. For instance, in 2011 the Department of Veterans Affairs released the PTSD Coach app, which is designed to help servicemembers managing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.