MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The University of South Alabama is changing to meet the needs of military veterans and their dependents. The newly created Office of Military Services is intended to help vets and their families with unique challenges.
In a school of more than 13,000 students, more than one thousand are either US Veterans or dependents of veterans.
Around this office you’ll still see the old signs for USA Veteran Affairs. It’s being changed to the Office of Military Services to help differentiate between the services offered by the state or federal VA and what they offer at the school.
David Blair spent 25 years in the Army before going on to similar programs at Mississippi State University and the University of Alabama. This is meant to streamline assistance for vets and dependents and point them in the right direction if they can’t help at the university level.
“We’re the first point of contact at the university. So what we do is everything from certifying GI Bill benefits to offering programs and services to help ease the transition for our veterans and service members coming to campus as well as our dependents,” said Office of Military Services Director David Blair.
Blair estimates there are around 250 veterans and 900 dependents who also have military benefits extended to them enrolled at USA.