Directorate of Veterans Support (Makko Oko)

Directorate Of Veterans Support

Agency overview
Formed	12 December 2022 (2022-12-12)
Jurisdiction	Makko Oko
Agency executive	Cory Wirtz, General
Parent agency	Ministry of Defense
Website	veterans.mod.gov.mk

The Directorate Of Veterans Support, also referred to as DVS, is a military welfare agency in the Empire Of Makko Oko under the directive and control of the Ministry Of Defense. Its mission is to provide life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance.

History

The Directorate Of Veterans Support was founded on December 12th, 2022 after the enactment of the Veterans Security Act officially transferring the authority of the Welfare Administration Service to administrate veterans benefits, mainly pensions and retirement, over to the Ministry Of Defense for separate administration. The law was drafted by Emperor's Court Judge Darrel Kemp, a councilmember on the 1st Emperor's Law Council, who's also a veteran of the Makko Okoan Anti-Poverty Forces from the time of the Civil Transition War. The benefits granted to veterans under the law were greatly increased, including the formation of exclusive military healthcare, the authority to grant military base housing to veterans, etc.

Organization

Retirement Pension

The Directorate Of Veterans Support has absolute authority and control over the pensions system for military veterans within the nation. Originally under the authority of the Welfare Administration Service, after DVS took control of it, the program got revamped and modified to better fit the ministry's standards.

Retirement pensions are automatic and granted to military soldiers after honorable or medical discharge from the Liberation Forces. Generally discharged soldiers may request for a manual review of their pension eligibility and benefits. Dishonorably discharged soldiers are never granted a retirement pension, regardless of the duration of their service. No soldier who served less than a year may be granted a pension regardless of discharge, unless the MOD makes an exception, or they served during a period of wartime.

Originally under the WAS's military retirement program, soldiers got one of two options in terms of lifetime payments, either a capped pay up to $50K SLO's a month, to be determined by the WAS, or up to their military rank pay as if they were active duty. Civilians under reserve commands but also former soldiers were still allowed benefits, however the DVS fully revamped both the payment and requirements to obtain the pension.

Retirement pensions begin accruing after a year of active service, beginning with $1K SLO's a month. Whenever another year of active service passes, the pension increases by anywhere between $300-$500 SLO's, depending on reports by superiors. Milestone service durations do exist, for 5, 10, 20, 25, etc. years of service. On a milestone year, the pension increases depending on the milestone reached. For the first milestone, 5 years, the pension increases by $2K SLO's, and then on a year like 10 or 20, it increases by that number in the thousands, meaning $10K and $20K SLO's respectively.

Pensions are only granted to military veterans on reserve (not called up for duty) on a case-by-case basis of the MOD. Being on reserve does not increase or decrease a soldier's pension, unless they get called up for duty. Should that occur, the pension increases by the month, instead of the year, for the duration of their reserve service. On the first month, it's $100, but thereafter it gets doubled each time, with the second month being $300, third month being $500, and so forth.

After the DVS was incepted, the reserves of the Liberation Forces had their entry requirements be modified by the MOD to exclude non-citizen soldiers from joining. This paved the way for the retirement pension to allow non-citizen veterans of the military to receive it.

Eligibility For Retirement

To be eligible for a military retirement pension, individuals must meet the following criteria:

1. Must have an honorable discharge, general discharge or medical discharge from the military (general discharges manually approved on a case-by-case basis)
2. Must not be currently in the reserves in any way, shape or form (exceptions granted on a case-by-case basis)
3. Must have served for a minimum of 1 (one) year

Healthcare

The DVS offers healthcare exclusively to eligible veterans of the nation. The healthcare program is named FORCECARE and is administered by the DVS and the MOD, with all veterans being eligible, unless they were dishonorably discharged. The program was formally launched on March 3rd, 2023 after months of planning and logistics on the matter. Unlike MakCare, FORCECARE only covers DVS hospitals and isn't supported at many non-DVS institutions, which greatly limits the effectiveness of the program.

FORCECARE provides a standardized plan that applies to everybody, and options or customizability are virtually non-existent. FORCECARE offers unlimited prescriptions and refills, $50 universal co-pays, $3,500 deductible and international insurance coverage for life-saving treatment only, with $150 co-pays, all for a premium of $150/month. No addon packages or services are offered, like pet care, meaning MakCare is seen as still needed for what FORCECARE wont cover.

For low-income veterans, they can get a very similar plan offering, except there are no universal co-pays and a $1,500 deductible. The low-income offering has a premium of $65/month. Veterans have criticized the DVS for false advertising FORCECARE, with the "unlimited prescription" offering meaning that they get any prescription, as long as they pay a $150 filling fee per pickup. Low-income veterans have no filling fee and are as such exempted from that.

Injury Compensation

The DVS provides compensation to veterans that were injured on the line of duty, with the payments being dependent on an IOL (Impact Of Life) rating determined by the DVS. IOL ratings can be any number between 0 and 100, incremental by 5's, with 100 being totally and permanently impacted, disabled and 0 being no impact at all. An IOL rating of 0 is an automatic denial of compensation. Injury compensation isn't automatically reviewed unless the veteran was medically discharged, otherwise the veteran has to manually apply for compensation.

If a veteran is medically discharged, it typically guarantees injury compensation of some form. Compensation is meant to be long-lasting, so temporary or non-permanent injuries are typically not considered unless otherwise approved by the DVS General or the MOD. Typical compensation payments can range anywhere between $100 SLO's to $9,500 SLO's and there is no statutory cap on compensation amounts. Injury compensation is available to all veterans except the dishonorably discharged.

In extreme and rare circumstances, on a case-by-case basis, a dishonorably discharged veteran may be eligible for injury compensation should the injury have been due to negligence of the Liberation Forces. This does not qualify them for a retirement pension, only the injury compensation.

General Of DVS

The General of the Directorate Of Veterans Support is the executive and head of the agency, overseeing the duties and functions carried out by the agency, both constitutionally required and otherwise. Appointed Generals are always current or former top brass military officials, as the agency is military-run and overseen by the Ministry Of Defense. The General, should it not be a current military official, is not considered a military soldier unless a formal declaration by the Minister Of Defense is made.

If a military official receives a dishonorable discharge, even if they were at one point a top official, they would be barred from holding the position of General.

History

Generals of DVS

Name	Start year	End year	Regime
Cory Wirtz	December 12th, 2022	Present	Conall Solis