Despite the rhetoric of "We can't do enough for you" that has bombarded veterans since the early 1980s, veterans' benefits are constantly being downsized, measured only by bottom-line costs. Gone are the pledges of a nation grateful for the sacrifices of those who have served. The results: a Veterans Administration with a diminished budget, and millions of veterans whose legitimate claims for federal benefits are denied, in most cases because the claimants don't understand the procedures needed to meet the VA's myriad requirements.

With the appeals process requiring years to resolve disputes, deserving veterans and their dependents are left confused and frustrated by the agency and a system that was created to serve them. In The Veteran's Survival Guide, veterans'advocate John D. Roche equips veterans with the knowledge they need to submit well-grounded claims the first time, stating as Rule #1 that, "If you don't submit evidence to support your claim it will be denied."

Written in an accessible self-help style, The Veteran's Survival Guide should be required reading for all veterans or veterans'dependents who wish to obtain their well-earned benefits, and for those officials of veterans' service organizations whose job it is to assist veterans with their claims.