news-record.com

North Carolinians can take pride in the legions of active military personnel and retirees living in the state. For this week, that number swells by an estimated 2,000 as delegates attend the national AMVETS convention at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons.

Along with the comradeship and well-worn war stories, there's an important agenda to be heard.

Foremost are concerns about soldiers who are wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan not getting adequate medical treatment stateside. For veterans of earlier conflicts, the issue is processing requests for benefits or disability status more quickly.

AMVETS is the nation's largest veterans service organization open to active-duty personnel and veterans of regular and reserve forces. It has an enviable record of advocating on behalf of issues important to veterans.

Worth mentioning is an AMVETS suggestion for changing the government's formula for funding Veterans Affairs. A less complicated, more dependable method would better ensure funds for upgrading facilities and improving care. Among other recommendations, the organization wants to streamline filing VA disability claims. Earlier this year, a News & Record report concluded that a skewed appeals system based on archaic rules works against aging claimants ever collecting anything.

This convention's focus is on younger veterans. That's important because the military and VA have been slow to acknowledge that soldiers returning home from a much different conflict face difficult new challenges. Unfortunately, creative solutions to ease the transition have been lacking.

So organizations like AMVETS are speaking out for comrades in arms. They deserve our gratitude for selfless service to country and caring for those who follow in their boot steps.