Larry Robinson
White County, Arkansas
CVSO of the year 2001-2002

             TO: White County Veterans Affairs
Larry assists George Branch of Beebe with his paperwork

BY DALE ELLIS
Managing Editor    05 Oct 2002

    While attending a training session at Camp Robinson October 1, County Veterans
Affairs Officer (CVSO) for White County Larry Robinson received an unexpected
surprise.
Robinson was named the Arkansas Veterans Affairs Officer of the Year for 2001- 2002.
   "They called my name and called me up on the big stage and it just shocked me,"
Robinson said. "It came as a total surprise."
   The twice-a-year training session brings together all 75 CVAOs from al175 counties
for updated training in the field of veteran's assistance.
   Appointed by White County Judge Bob Parish six years ago, Robinson, a resident of
Bradford, is responsible for rep- resenting the approximately 7,000 veterans, the seventh
largest group in the state he said, who live in the White County area.
  The business of veteran's affairs brings a lot of money into the county from a variety of
benefits that veterans receive. Over $10 million flows into White County yearly through
the County Veterans Service Office in compensation and pensions alone.
   "When you start talking about home loans," Robinson said, "1 have no idea how much
money comes into the county."
   Robinson joined the National Guard as a senior in high school and spent over 22 years
as an active reservist, retiring as a sergeant major.
   "I did that because I didn't want to pick cotton," he said with a laugh. "Shortly after, I
went full time with the Guard as a civilian technician. I really did like the Guard and I felt
like I had a good reason to go in after a teacher told me there was a better way to make
a living than with a nine-foot pick sack."
   As the county veterans service officer, when veterans need to file paperwork with the
federal government, Robinson is there to help them get the paperwork to the proper
offices, thereby saving valuable time and resources. He noted, however, that he has no
input into the process after the fil- ing of paperwork.
   "It's a misconception that a lot of people have that we have some- thing to do with
approval or denial of claims," Robinson said. "I'm an advocate. If a person comes in with,
say a diabetes issue and they think it is service related, I'm the go-between. I file the
paperwork and make sure it goes to the right place, but I don't make the determinations."
   Robinson and his 74 colleagues from around the state assist veter-ans with a number of
issues, such as V.A. loan paperwork, medical and healthcare issues, insurance benefits,
education benefits, and compensation and pension issues.
   Another area in which Robinson and the other officers are beginning to become familiar
is the field of service-related mental and psychiatric issues, such as post-traumatic stress
disorder.
   "That's a field I need more training in," he said. "There is a lot to it."
   The local office, located in the White County building next to the White County Sheriff's
Department, conducts two PfSD clinics a month. Mary Ramm, a nurse from the Veterans
Center in North Little Rock, who is qualified to treat PfSD patients, conducts those clinics.
   "She's away from the V.A., like I am," Robinson said, "and the veterans we serve can
build that trust because we are not the V.A."
   That relationship, he said; is a needed link between the Veterans Administration and the
veterans it serves, because the plethora of paperwork that faces anyone dealing with the
V.A can be challenging at best.
   "Laws concerning .veterans are the most complicated sets of laws in existence,"
Robinson said.. "That's why so few attorneys engage in veteran's law. It should- n't be that
way, but it is."
   He said that overall, the treatment veterans receive from society is good, and vastly
improved from the days of the Vietnam War.
   "I think society does an excellent job now," he said. "They are really supportive. When
the Gunslingers came back, people really poured out their support. I was glad to see it."
   Robinson said that he was impressed with how well the National Guard kept its
paperwork in order during the recent deployment to the Sinai Region of Egypt.
   "When they came back I thought there would be more work to be done than what there
was," he said. "For one thing, I thought there would be more injuries to deal with, but also,
much of what issues they did face they took care of themselves."
   Robinson expressed some frustration with the Veterans Administration and what he said
that he sees as an entrenched bureaucratic mindset when dealing with those who have
served the country.
   He told of a White County woman whose husband died six years ago, and who filed a
compensation claim on the grounds that his death from chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease was service related. Her claim has been tied up in appeals for the past six years.
   "Now, if we weren't here, this lady would have to go to Building 64 at the V.A., and she
has no advocate there," Robinson said.
"When her husband died, she felt like there would be no problem because he was already
service connected for a disability, but it was for heart disease."
   Robinson said that her claim should have been settled years ago, and that, he claimed, is
one of the problems facing veterans today.
   "If a veteran files a claim and it is denied at the local level, they had better get ready," he
said. "It's going to be a long haul."
   White County Judge Bob Parish praised Robinson's efforts on behalf of veterans, calling
him a knowledgeable and effective advocate.
   "He does a great job for White County," Parish said. "He serves veterans not just in this
county but from surrounding counties as well. He has a real heart for this job."
   Of the award, Parish said that he was proud to hear that Robinson was selected, and that
he believed that validated his choice for the county veterans service officer.
   "He's very humble and he'll do anything he can for the veterans," Parish commented.
"He's truly special person, he does a great job, and he deserves that award."