CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For many veterans, the toughest battles don't end with military service — they continue in the form of navigating the benefits they've earned.
Orlando Rosa dedicated years of his life to serving his country.
"I'm a 20-year retired veteran from the Navy. I was an aviation ordnance man; I did eight deployments: 20 years, seven days, and 14 hours, something like that," Rosa said.
But his service didn't end after he retired. Rosa continues to serve his fellow veterans daily as the Kleberg County Veterans Service Officer.
"I'm the Kleberg County Veterans Service Officer. I've been here three years," Rosa said.
As a Veterans Service Officer, Rosa meets veterans in his community regularly. His main goal is to help them get access to the benefits they need.
"Many veterans don't understand the systems, or they don't know where to get the information, and that's why this office or any VSO office is important," Rosa said.
Many former service members battle illnesses and injuries far beyond their active days.
"You'll start one way, but when you come out of the service at whatever point in your career... we all have medical issues," Rosa said.
Rosa spends his time assisting veterans in understanding how to access the care they need — care they have earned for serving their country. But he says the job goes far beyond paperwork. It's about being there for others just like him.
"When it ends, it's like a light switch; it's just turned off. But the reality is it doesn't, and those nightmares, sometimes those memories, the good, the bad its all there. And you can reach out to veterans like my office, if you need to just come and talk," Rosa said.
Rosa says too many veterans go without the care they need, and he hopes to make an impact that changes that.
"There's a lot of veterans that still don't have benefits, and I'm always here for them; when they're ready," Rosa said.
"This job gives me that purpose. I'm here to help veterans like myself get the benefits that they need or the help they need, it might not be the benefits, maybe it's just somebody to talk to," Rosa said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
More Veterans In Focus stories are available here, along with resources for local veterans.
