FAQs

Explore our FAQ section for immediate support and guidance tailored to the needs of Green Berets and their families. Your source for detailed information on assistance programs and services.

Active duty Green Berets who are wounded or injured while deployed, or engaged in military training, are eligible for Casualty Support. Requests are received from the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Warrior Care Program aka Care Coalition.

The Green Beret Foundation sends a $2,500 check to be used for family members’ travel not covered by the Army, and support for other family needs such as child-care, pet kenneling, and fuel cards. Additionally, a rucksack filled with essential gear for a temporary hospital stay is sent to the Green Beret.

Pre- and Post-9/11 Special Forces qualified soldiers are eligible for services under the Health and Wellness Support program. Those requesting support must provide a redacted ERB, ORB, Soldier Talent Profile, or DD214 reflecting Special Forces Qualification.

Active Duty personnel MUST go through the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Warrior Care Program aka Care Coalition to receive support of a financial nature from any benevolent organization. If you are ACTIVE DUTY please contact your Recovery Care Coordinator/Advocate, or call 1-877-672-3039 to inquire about enrollment .

Health and Wellness Support provides support for Special Forces soldiers as they manage injuries and conditions that have resulted during their service. The goal of this program is to ensure that their mind, body, and spirit are healthy by supplementing the care they receive through the Military Health System and the Veterans Health Administration.

This program includes:
• Financial support for alternative treatments and therapies not covered by the U.S.
Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) including mental health and addiction treatment.
• Financial support for adaptive medical equipment such as specialized wheelchairs,
braces, stimulation machines, prosthetics, adaptive equipment, compression systems for
injuries, chair lifts, or medical supplies not covered by insurance.
• Travel and lodging costs for treatments, including for family or caregivers when needed.
• Financial support for hospice care not already covered by other means.

To request Health and Wellness Support, a redacted ERB, ORB, STP, or DD214 reflecting Special Forces Qualification must be provided at the time of request submission. In order to fulfill a request for Health and Wellness Support, a medical recommendation or prescription for the service or medical device being requested must be submitted. The Programs and Services team can work with you to determine health and wellness support options to discuss with a medical provider should you be uncertain of the type of service you need.

Active Duty personnel MUST go through the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Warrior Care Program aka Care Coalition to receive support of a financial nature from any benevolent organization. If you are ACTIVE DUTY please contact your Recovery Care Coordinator/Advocate, or call 1-877-672-3039 to inquire about enrollment .

You will be contacted by a member of GBF within 3 business days of submitting a request for support to discuss your request and available resources. The length of time it takes for an outcome to be reached varies depending on the assistance being requested. The best way to assist in expediting your request will be to upload all required documents to your request at the time of submission.

At the Green Beret Foundation, it is our mission to supplement the care that the Military Health System (MHS) and Veterans Health Administration (VA) provide to ensure total wellness for the Green Beret. In the event that your initial request is denied, our team will provide you with additional, vetted resources for you to look into for possible assistance.

Immediate family members (parents, siblings, spouse, children) and caregivers of Pre- and Post-9/11 Special Forces qualified soldiers are eligible for services under the Family Support program. Those requesting support must provide a redacted ERB, ORB, Soldier Talent Profile, DD214, or DD Form 1300 reflecting their Green Beret’s Special Forces Qualification.

Family Support provides support for eligible family members and caregivers as they manage both physical and mental health concerns. Additionally, this program addresses the unique needs of Special Forces spouses and children. The goal of this program is to ensure that family members’ and caregivers’ minds, bodies, and spirits are healthy by supplementing the care they receive through the Military Health System.

This program includes:

  • Advocacy and education about available DOD/VA benefits and entitlements
  • Scholarships for higher education for spouses and children
  • Support network through the Steel Mags for mother, spouses, sisters, and daughters over 18
  • Financial support for alternative treatments and therapies not covered by insurance or other means including mental health and addiction treatment
  • Financial support for adaptive medical equipment and medical supplies not covered by insurance or other means
  • Financial support with childcare while attending medical appointments
  • Travel and lodging costs for medical treatments
  • Financial support for hospice care

To request Family Support, a redacted ERB, ORB, Soldier Talent Profile, DD214, or DD Form 1300 reflecting Special Forces Qualification must be provided at the time of request submission. In order to fulfill a request for a medical service or device, a medical recommendation or prescription for the service or medical device being requested must be submitted. The Programs and Services team can work with you to determine health and wellness options to discuss with a medical provider should you be uncertain of the type of service you need.

You will be contacted by a member of GBF within 3 business days of submitting a request for support to discuss your request and available resources. The length of time it takes for an outcome to be reached varies depending on the assistance being requested. The best way to assist in expediting your request will be to upload all required documents to your request at the time of submission.

At the Green Beret Foundation, it is our mission to supplement the care that the Military Health System (MHS) and Veterans Health Administration (VA) provide to ensure total wellness for eligible family members and caregivers. In the event that your initial request is denied, our team will provide you with additional, vetted resources for you to look into for possible assistance.

Immediate family members (parents, siblings, spouse, children) of Pre- and Post-9/11 Special Forces qualified soldiers who were killed in action; died while on active duty; or who died as a result of service-connected wounds, illness, or injuries; are eligible for services under the Gold Star and Surviving Families Support program. Those requesting support must provide a redacted ERB, ORB, Soldier Talent Profile, DD214, or DD Form 1300 reflecting their Green Beret’s Special Forces Qualification.

When an active duty Green Beret dies in service, the family is assigned a Casualty Assistance Officer who serves as a point of contact in identifying the family’s needs, and communicating those needs to the appropriate resources i.e. Command, Warrior Care Program, benevolent organizations. This process is adhered to by the Green Beret Foundation to ensure that the family is not overwhelmed by outreach they cannot manage, and that duplicative efforts are not made.

The death gratuity program provides for a special tax free payment of $100,000 to eligible survivors of members of the Armed Forces, who die while on active duty or while serving in certain reserve statuses. The death gratuity is the same regardless of the cause of death.

The longstanding purpose of the death gratuity has been to provide immediate cash payment to assist survivors of deceased members of the Armed forces to meet their financial needs during the period immediately following a member’s death and before other survivor benefits, if any, become available.

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) offers low-cost term coverage to eligible service members. Service members who meet certain criteria, will be automatically signed up. You can learn more about SGLI and how it affects surviving families at the following website:  https://www.va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/sgli/. Surviving families may be entitled to up to $500,000 after the passing of their Green Beret.

No. GBF works directly with families in need, and does not contribute toward or share GoFundMe pages. We do this to ensure that we are supporting unmet needs while being mindful of donor dollars.

Gold Star and Surviving Family Support provides support for eligible family members as they navigate the difficult journey of coping with such an immense loss, and life after the death of their Green Beret.

This program includes:

  • Advocacy and education about available DOD/VA benefits and entitlements
  • Financial assistance for counseling services to help with grief, trauma, and adjustment to life without their loved one
  • Financial assistance with funeral expenses not covered by other means
  • Travel support to attend the USASOC/unit memorial
  • Connection to additional, vetted Gold Star/Surviving Family benevolent organizations

Financial support for alternative treatments and therapies not covered by insurance or other means

  • Financial support for adaptive medical equipment and medical supplies not covered by insurance or other means
  • Financial support with childcare while attending medical appointments
  • Travel and lodging costs for medical treatments

Fill out the request for support link on our page:  https://greenberetfoundation.org/request-support/

This will establish an account with the GBF. Our programs and services are free of charge. The account is a way to verify your service, input your demographic information, and safely store files in our secure cloud system. A VA accredited veteran service officer from your area will contact you to set up an appointment and establish the next steps.

This is very common for a lot of 18-Series soldiers. A VSO will take a look at your records and have a discussion with you about what the VA needs to see as evidence if you have concerns about undocumented service-connected injuries and/or illnesses. The VSO will help you understand what the VA will need according to regulations.

Two years out is a good time to start planning for your separation/retirement, and begin securing documentation for any conditions you intend to claim with the VA. This allows you to schedule and attend appointments necessary to secure diagnoses as appropriate. You should look into getting Life Insurance prior to securing additional diagnoses.

At the GBF we very much understand that sometimes life gets in the way. Fill out a request for support and one of our VSO’s will be in contact to discuss your claim, and the options for filing your claim. Our team processes requests for support in the order in which they are received.

Fill out a request for support and a VSO in your region will contact you to discuss your medical records, and filing options. The GBF specializes in all types of VA claims. We can help you with your rating at any point in your journey.

We would be happy to. The GBF serves Special Forces qualified veterans from all eras. Fill out a request for support, and a VSO will be in contact to go over your previous claims. They will guide you regarding the next steps, and the best way to move forward with the VA. Our VSO team will give you the best answer for you in accordance with VA law.

Due to the significant increase in demand from Special Forces qualified servicemembers and veterans pertaining to VA claim support, we collaborated with our Program Partner, Wounded Warrior Project, to secure a referral process for non-18 Series personnel in need of VA claims support. You can submit a request for support to GBF, and we will complete the referral process on your behalf.

That’s a great question! We cannot tell you how long it will take to get a rating. We can giveyou a window based on the type of claim you file; even then it’s not a guarantee. We are hereto help guide your process and intervene on your behalf if there is a problem with your claim.You will not get a rating until the first day after you are out of the Army and not a day before if you retire, or ETS. We encourage you to engage with a financial counselor to ensure your financial readiness for separation/retirement should there be a delay in your rating determination.

There isn’t one organization, not even the VA, that can guarantee a 100% rating. If any organization promises this to you, or charges you a sum of money to complete your claim, this is fraudulent under VA law. The GBF will work very hard to get the rating you are entitled to.

This is a free service. We rely on generous donations from our community. If you or someone you know would like to donate to the Green Beret Foundation, please follow the link here: https://greenberetfoundation.org/donate/

The GBF offers regional seminars by accredited VA Veterans Service Officers at least twice a year. We offer Zoom seminars for our NG units, and we offer one on one meetings for our Green Berets that are geographically dispersed. Please check out our Events page to learn about the calendar of VA Seminars nearest you.

The Green Beret Foundation recommends requesting the individual’s personnel records from the National Archives or contacting the Special Forces Association for further information about their service.

The Green Beret Foundation is currently collaborating with No One Left Behind and Save Our Allies. They are the best resources regarding allied assistance.

The Green Beret Foundation honors fallen post-9/11 Green Berets by ensuring that our memorial wall and anniversary posts on social media reflect the names listed on the USASOC Memorial Wall at Fort Liberty, NC.

To arrange international shipping for your order, simply email your order request to orders@greenberetfoundation.org, and we will prepare an invoice for you directly.

To verify if someone has served in the US Army Special Forces as a Green Beret and to address any concerns regarding falsified credentials, the Green Beret Foundation recommends utilizing the resources provided by Guardians of the Green Beret. They specialize in verifying military service records and can assist in confirming the authenticity of an individual’s claims. You can visit their website at http://guardiansofthegreenberet.com for more information and assistance with the verification process.

Yes. The Green Beret Foundation is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record.

Under the current tax laws, only the amount of your contribution that exceeds the amount of the goods or services provided to you is tax deductible as a charitable contribution.

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