Diary: Louis Geiger, NVF Counselor

“An Army veteran called our Lifeline for Vets and needed his DD214 to complete his job application for a federal job. I advised him that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Personnel Records Center was accepting urgent DD214 requests only for homeless veterans, medical emergencies, and funerals.

This veteran needed his discharge papers within two days because the employer needed verification of his service. I knew that quick access to his DD214 could be had by logging in through E-Benefits.

Explaining and navigating E-Benefits over the phone would have been difficult, so I put together a detailed step-by-step procedure to send by e-mail. I asked the veteran to call me once he had his paperwork. The next business day, he called me to say he’d been able to download and submit it. He got the job.”