VALPARAISO | Getting help or benefits for local veterans shouldn't be as difficult as it is, Portage resident Al Krabbenhoeft said.

Like many other Vietnam vets, Krabbenhoeft has suffered serious health problems as a result of Agent Orange exposure. He is on more than a dozen medications for conditions such as diabetes, heart problems, arthritis and peripheral neuropathy. Krabbenhoeft's hospital visits often take him to Chicago, Crown Point and a number of other specialty facilities.

The Portage resident is no stranger to filing claims with the VA. He routinely visits the Porter County Veteran Affairs office to speak with a service officer and keep his entitlements coming. Yet Krabbenhoeft considers himself lucky compared to what his friends have experienced.

"I know people who have been waiting years for their claim to go through," Krabbenhoeft said. "We served our country but we're not getting our benefits. I heard that it's a year to 18-month waiting period right now with the VA to get your claim processed."

In addition to the difficult-to-navigate VA system, the local county office is overworked and understaffed. Porter County has more than 16,000 veterans but the Veteran Affairs office is only staffed by three part-time workers.

Service worker Jim Lynch, a retired state police officer and Vietnam veteran, said more than 1,000 people come into the office every year seeking help.

Some veterans plop 5-inch thick binders on Lynch's desk that are full of medical records and military forms to be reviewed. Others require multiple visits due to complex or previously denied claims. With each veteran requiring hours of work, Lynch's to-do list has gotten out of control.

"There are so many vets in this county that no matter how hard or fast we work, we just can't keep up," Lynch said.

The three workers get paid for a total of 60 hours a week between them, yet Lynch said they often work off-the-clock to accommodate as many veterans as possible. The office has plans to open a satellite location in Portage, but will need additional workers as a result. With county budget hearings approaching later this summer, Lynch said he plans to request at least one additional worker.

Krabbenhoeft said the extra hands are definitely needed.

"If he doesn't get help, he'll never catch up," Krabbenhoeft said. "His backlog is just huge."

Because Lynch is the main messenger between the VA and local veterans, he also has to navigate around the department's red tape. Lynch said much of the department's bureaucracy is to the disadvantage of local veterans.

Recent regulations, for example, force any veteran applying for benefits to have an income below a certain level. Another rule only allows widows to collect entitlements if their husband's death was a result of the disability they were receiving benefits for.

Recently, a woman came in whose WWII veteran husband died of a heart attack. She received nothing, Lynch said.

Other regulations require so much paperwork and processing that it discourages veterans from utilizing the system.

"It has become so cumbersome that a lot of vets say, 'Forget it - it's too complicated,' when they see what they have to do," Lynch said. "I try to tell them to let me be the worrier for them, but they just won't do it."