Joint Base Langley-Eustis is putting their services on display for those who’ve served “30 days or 30 years” in a “Veterans Homecoming” event on Feb. 8.
Fort Eustis’ Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office along with food trucks, raffles, and giveaways will be staged from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Commissary and Exchange parking lot at Fort Eustis as a way to reintroduce services to veterans who may not have been on the post since they were discharged.
“There are people who have wanted to come back on post to see their old unit and it’s not been available before and now the doors are opening,” said Michael Reeves, a spokesman for Joint Base Langley-Eustis. “And, it is like coming home to have all those [services] open to them again.”
RELATED STORY: Veterans and caregivers can now access commissary services on military bases
As of Jan. 1 veterans and their primary caregivers have access to on-post commissary, base exchange, and MWR services, including the on-base golf course and military discounted tickets to local events.
“Veterans and primary family caregivers who are eligible and want to take advantage of in-person benefits must have a Veterans Health Identification Card, or VHIC,” the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wrote in a recent news release. “Primary family caregivers must have an eligibility letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Community Care.”
Reeves said the post’s grocery store and retail store will have “big sales that day,” and have tables set up to remind veterans what the “extended patronage” and privileges mean.
“It’s a show-and-tell of what’s out there and what they can do,” he said.
A one-time registration is required before veterans can access Fort Eustis or any other military installation in the area. Reeves said a team will also be at the visitor’s center to expedite the process at 8 a.m. on the day of the homecoming event.
Reeves added veterans have had access since the start of the new year and don’t have to wait until Feb. 8 to register or access the base by going to Fort Eustis Visitors’ Center located to the right of the front gate on Washington Boulevard, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“We want our veterans to feel at home again,” said Col. Jennifer Walkawicz, commander of the 733rd Mission Support Group at Fort Eustis. “The ‘Welcome Home Veterans’ event on Fort Eustis will allow us to do just that.”
For more information about the Fort Eustis’ Veterans’ Homecoming, click here.
