That figure is a Veterans Administration estimate, and they ought to know veterans affairs and statistics as well as anyone. Macon County's advocate for vets, young and old, is 53 year-old Forrest Bullington, himself a 20-year Air Force veteran. Bullington has been Veteran Service Office for this area for the past four years, and his office is located in a cozy basement corner at the north entrance of the Macon County Courthouse.
Veterans who might have trouble navigating the short flight of stairs down to the Service Office are invited to call ahead, 666-4480, and Bullington will meet them in room 107, across the hall from the County Court Clerk's office. Room 107 is County Codes officer Mike Rogers territory now, but it can accommodate the public as a Veterans Service Office work area when needed.
"I really enjoy working with other veterans, and I bond to older folks really well," says Bulliington. "It personally does me a lot of good to be able to help those folks, and many of them have given so much to their country in the way of service and sacrifice, they truly deserve any help we can give them in times of bad health or old age."
Forrest Bullington is uniquely qualified to help vets navigate through the modern Veterans Administration system. He entered the Air Force at age 26, and spent two years as a pharmacy technician, then taught in the USAF's Pharmacy School for four years before being assigned to help set up the computer system for all Air Force pharmacies.
As Veterans Service Officer he can make his way through the maze of required government paperwork for his veteran clients and their widows or spouses, using computer knowledge and technology that few of the older veterans would be comfortable with.
Health Care enrollment is one of the most important functions he can perform for vets, and with large VA hospitals in both Murfreesboro and Nashville, many Macon County veterans can avail themselves of free or reduced cost medical services with no more of a commute than they would have to access other private hospital or medical facilities.
The rules for VA hospital access changed in 2003, and today there are income limitations as to who can use VA services. If a veteran has an annual income below $30,000, or has a service connected disability, then access to VA services is guaranteed. But there are considerable limitations now for those vets who have higher annual incomes.
Bullington can and does advise clients on the range of services available to them. Many Korean War and World War II veterans are eligible for disability pensions, even if the disability is not service connected, so long as they saw service during wartime. Any veteran with wartime service who is over age 65 can be considered for complete disability pension payments, and vets with $10,000 or less in Social Security income, can see the pension increase their annual total income to between $13,000 and $16,000.
Widows of veterans are also eligible for VA pensions if their annual income is less than 7,000, or up to $10,000 if it is less than $7,000 after medical expenses. Having a very small retirement income is a common plight for homemakers who paid little or nothing into the Social Security system because their husbands were the sole wage earners in the family.
"I see and help refer a lot of Vietnam era veterans who have diabetes, heart disease or blood pressure disorders. These automatically qualify for disability consideration because it's been proved that there is a 'presumptive connection' between Agent Orange exposure and those physical conditions," explained the Service Officer.
While the veterans of the First Gulf War, and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are much younger, they share many of the problems of their older comrades in arms, and Bullington invites veterans of all ages to investigate and inquire into services available to them as modern "American Heroes".
Returning to veteran's widows pensions, Bullington noted that if the surviving spouse requires "aid and attendance" due to medical or physical conditions, then they are often eligible for higher payments based on need.
Macon County's veterans have a real asset and competent advocate in their Veterans Service Officer. Forrest Bullington keeps office hours, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Remember, if climbing a few steps would offer any hindrance to a veteran, or a veteran's widow or spouse making a visit to the office, call ahead and the Service Officer will make an appointment to meet the client upstairs in the handicapped-access area of the Courthouse first floor, in Room 107. That phone number, again, is 666-4480.
We all appreciate our veterans. And Forrest Bullington is here to help them feel appreciated, especially in time of need and to help deal with the inevitable problems associated with old age or declining health or service connected disabilities.
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