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March 10, 2025
Star Democrat Newspaper Article - “This is going to change the world”
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‘This is going to change the world’
ANDREA GRABENSTEIN
agrabenstein@chespub.com
The Queen Anne’s County Veteran and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA) has made history recently as the first veteran service organization in the nation to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen Veterans Assistance (VA) disability claim submissions.
Signing a memorandum of understanding with Vet Mentor AI Feb. 22, VAMSA is utilizing technology to strengthen disability claims support programs and streamline processes of support for all veterans.
Anyone who has ever had to submit a claim can understand the rigmarole necessary to jump through and the often overwhelming process involved.
One who knew such first hand struggles of facing denied disabilities claims was U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Vet Mentor AI founder and CEO Paul Hylenski who initially created a personal program to help him and his friends process information before quickly realizing it could be turned into an application to assist others.
Along with the challenges service members can face returning to civilian life, such as delayed impact from experiences like PTSD, many vets don’t know how to apply for benefits and are unsure of their eligibility, according to Hylenski.
Vet Mentor AI supports veterans throughout the entire process of filing successful benefits claims by streamlining the process, he said. The goal of Vet Mentor AI is to ensure that every veteran has access to the support they deserve, making the complex claims process more accessible and effective.
The process which previously could take months if not years of organizing paper work now can be available in a manner of seconds, he said.
Offering personalized seamless support to simplify complex processes for user ease, humanistic AI avatar guides include a Denied Claims Assistant, a Virtual Veterans Officer and a Compensation and Pension Exam Simulation.
The program will be able to scour the internet to provide concise and specific aspects needed for a specific claim.
The program is specifically designed to streamline the process, officials will be able to get answers to questions much faster and even tell the strength of a claim.
In addition to detecting human error made to denied claims, the program will make significant headway in eradicating “claim sharks” or non-VA-accredited affiliations that try to charge for phony filing assistance, he said.
VAMSA officials were over the moon for the opportunity to bring the program to the community and expand their services by performing at a much higher level efficiency rate, according to Eric Johnson, VAMSA executive director and Air Force veteran.
The Eastern Shore has fewer resources compared to western shore counterparts, according to Johnson.
Whether appealing denied decisions or establishing new claims, VAMSA spends the most amount of its time on claims, according to Johnson, who was sold “immediately” withVet MentorAI and noted a “minimum” of 75% staffing time will be cut through through the program.
“Eastern Shore residents often feel the overall resource availability is like a resource desert when compared with what is available on the Western Shore — VAMSA [alongside County partners] are working very hard to counter this perception,” Johnson said.
With the workload saving, Johnson said, they will be able to expand service reaches, expand the organization’s services and mission to address inequity faced by veterans and their families across the Eastern Shore.
VAMSA has been asked to be the face of the organization’s expanding mission and inequity faced by veterans and families on the Eastern Shore.
“I can’t say enough about the capabilities,” Johnson said.
With the streamlined services, VAMSA will be able to do more of what it is meant to do:spending time with clients and further strengthening service resources across the Mid-Shore region.
Safety and support is a crucial aspect of the program and VAMSA access support will be available through every step of their claim’s journey, according to Johnson.
The program is versatile and whether for those computer savvy or those who are not, clients will never be left on their own to navigate the technology.
VAMSA officials can help walk applicants through the process, or applicants can use the program from the comfort of their own home, Johnson said.
“At the end of the day it’s going to give us valuable information and we’re still going to deliberately go through it and add the human touch,” he said.
The tool will scrub the internet for research and academic sources studies to support service based conditions in a timely manner that even the most diligent VSO can’t accomplish.
“It’s taken people years to get answers, and this, it’s literally taken seconds,” Chad Baker, VAMSA board member and Army veteran said.
The program can tell the applicant what aspects are still needed and probably most importantly, The HIPAA certified program will never store or send out personal information and perhaps most importantly, Vet Mentor AI will never under any circumstances make up information it does not know the answer to, Hylenski emphasized.
“This is setting veterans up for success,” said VAMSA board member and Navy veteran Cynthia Arnette. As a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs assisting veterans and their families get benefits for decades, Arnette could remember the old school filing days of pen and paper.
“Now look how far we’ve come,” she said proudly.
Like many, Arnette was wary of the growing rise of AI, but was “elated” at the prospects of VetMentor AI to assist claims and streamline the service.
The program will not be replacing Veteran Service Organizations, “but strengthening them,” according to Baker, who noted support for veterans assistance is a crucial need in the country. Decisions are made everyday that not only affect veterans, but the livelihood of spouses.
Baker looked forward to the program eventually being utilized across the country and assisting long time coming support, especially Vietnam vets and their families and eliminating millions of dollars in backlog from human error.
“I really believe by using this tool, it puts something in the hands of the VA (Veterans Assistance) that they can act on exponentially more quickly, “ Johnson said, adding somberly, “People literally die waiting for their claim.”
Transforming the lives of veterans one claim at a time, “You are the reason I credited this tool, ” Hylenski said to the members of VAMSA, noting their passion in assisting veterans was nothing less than inspirational.
“This is going to change the world,” he said.
VAMSA will never lose sight of its human touch in assisting local veterans and coupling the advanced AI with its team of dedicated expertise to make advancements for those who have more than earned it.
“As long as there is a human element on both ends checking and validating, that’s how you do artificial intelligence,” Johnson said.
The VAMSA office is located at 301 Pier One Road Stevensville.
More information about VAMSA, including events for veterans can be found a.
More information about Vet Mentor AI can be found at https://www.vetmentorai. com. This story has been updated to correct a quote by Eric Johnson referring to availability of resources and resource deserts.