Greetings from your new veteran services officer

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I hope this finds you and yours well and joyfully recovering from a wonderful holiday season! Let me introduce myself, I am Ed Lautrup and I am Washington County’s new veteran services officer. I am a Kennard kid, went to school in Arlington, spent a little over 20 years in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer, retiring in 2004 as a first sergeant in the 1st Armored Division.

I was stationed in many places throughout the globe including service along the DMZ in Korea, on the fence in the Fulda Gap of West Germany, experienced combat operations in Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. I’ve been married to Pauline (Polly), a Blair girl and fellow veteran (major, U.S. Army Nurse Corp) for nearly 28 years. We currently live in Fort Calhoun, where we are raising twin 15-year-old boys. The boys are Eagle Scouts and freshmen at Fort Calhoun High School.

My spare time is spent as the Scout Master of Boy Scout Troop 114, chartered to Fort Atkinson American Legion Post 348. I am a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1251, the American Legion Post 348 and AMVETS 008. That pretty much sums things up and also covers a good portion of the county.

As we move into the New Year, there are many changes regarding veterans' benefits.

First, with the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, three (conditions were added to the Agent Orange presumptive-conditions list wherein veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange may qualify for benefits: bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism or Parkinson-like symptoms. Veterans who meet these conditions are encouraged to file a compensation claim with the Veterans Administration.

There are several new options available for veterans when it comes to driver’s licenses and license plates. National Guard and Reserve veterans who had no active duty service other than for training are now eligible to have Guard-Veteran or Reserve-Veteran placed on their driver’s license.

Also, there are six new license plate designs available to veterans: Vietnam Service Medal, Southwest Asia (Gulf War I) Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Air National Guard.

There are two new military plates that are available to the public. Vets Get Pets plates support animal adoption fees for veterans and Support Our Troops plates support recruiting and retaining veterans in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Legislature made a big move for retired military members during the past year, passing legislation making 50% of a retired service member’s retirement pay exempt from Nebraska state taxes beginning in 2022. They are currently considering legislation to make the remaining half also free of state taxes (LB 6).

The VA Health Care System located in Omaha began giving COVID-19 vaccinations to veterans during the first week of January. They began with those more experienced vets — 75 and older — and then moved to those 65 and older with significant health issues. They are currently vaccinating any veteran that is eligible and enrolled in VA Health Care and using the Omaha Health Care System.

I received my first dose last week and am proud to say it was a seamless process. My father and I were in and out within 45 minutes including a mandatory 15-minute observation period following the vaccination.

For those of you already enrolled in VA Healthcare, you can call 402-346-8800 or 402-995-3598 to schedule an appointment for your vaccination. Those who are eligible but not enrolled contact me to complete and submit VA Form 10-10EZ for enrollment. If you are unsure about enrollment or eligibility check the va.gov or call my office at 402-426-6838.

I will sign off for now. Thank you for lending me your ear for a minute. I look forward to speaking with all of you again soon. If you have questions or just need to talk, call me or stop by the office. I like to tell people that I spent the first 20 years of my career assisting young soldiers and now am fortunate to assist the old soldiers! I am very proud to represent and assist the Veterans of Washington County. God Bless America!

Until we meet again, Charlie Mike!

Ed Lautrup is the veteran service officer for Washington County.