Mideast-war vets can apply for bonuses

August 4, 2010 at 12:03a.m.

By MARC KOVAC

COLUMBUS

Veterans of recent and ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East soon will be able to apply for bonus payments approved by voters last November.

The Ohio Department of Veterans Services is completing the final edits on the applications for the program, with hopes of having the paperwork available in coming weeks.

“We’re shooting for early September to announce that we’re ready for applications,” said Jim Gravelle, spokesman for the state agency.

In November, voters passed a constitutional amendment allowing the state to borrow up to $200 million to pay cash bonuses to Ohio military men and women who served in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq — those serving in current conflicts in the area plus those involved in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s.

That would include those who served from Aug. 2, 1990, to March 3, 1991; since Oct. 7, 2001, in Afghanistan; and since March 19, 2003, in Iraq.

Veterans will be paid $100 per month, up to $1,000, for time served in those areas or $50 a month, up to $500, for those serving in the military at the time in other locations. Families of veterans who died in action will be eligible for a $5,000 death benefit.

Similar cash bonuses were approved by voters and paid to veterans of other wars and conflicts dating back to World War I.

Lawmakers earlier this year signed off on the rules for the program and granted spending authority to cover the costs, and state workers are completing training for processing the applications.

Applications will be available online or through veterans services offices in each county.

It likely will take six to eight weeks to process payments once applications are submitted, depending on the volume of applicants, Gravelle said.