TAMPA, Fla. — When it comes to veterans’ benefits, the process can be tricky. Many veterans often don’t get the benefits they feel they’re entitled to.
That’s why a former U.S. Army officer-turned-influencer is helping veterans with their benefits using social media.
DeWayne Kimble says he served for years in the U.S. Army before working for Veterans Affairs.
He says he worked on claims for thousands of veterans and saw that many didn’t know what they were entitled to or what to submit.
Once he retired from the VA, he decided to share what he learned filing his own claim and what he had researched.
He took that knowledge and started a YouTube channel called “KMD89 VA Claims Consulting,” where he currently has more than 160,000 subscribers and has racked up over 17 million views.
“Adjudicating thousands of VA claims, what I noticed a pattern was, veterans were not educated on the process. When I got out, I think it was a 12-year period before I went to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs, I didn’t know I was entitled to any of these benefits,” Kimble said.
Kimble said he has written and sold thousands of books that help veterans with the sometimes difficult task of getting the claims they are entitled to.
A step-by-step process he’s made a career out of and one he says has proven results.
“Just received a Google review this morning where a veteran said, ‘Hey, I started watching your YouTube channel a year ago and I bought both of your books. I stopped being frustrated and decided to become educated,’” Kimble said.
Kimble is one of 25 recipients of a grant that highlights companies that expand the educational resources available to veterans.