Meet Tulare County's New Veteran Services Officer: Cecil Webster

Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cecil Webster, and I am the new Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for Tulare County. I served five years in the U.S. Navy as a Photographer's Mate stationed at NAS Lemoore and on the USS Peleliu in Long Beach. After my end of service, I graduated from Fresno State and began my 20-year (and counting) career with Tulare County. I became the VSO in August of this year.

The Veterans Corner editorial series will continue to provide information on some of the many benefits our veterans may be entitled to, but for my first article, I want to give an overview of veterans in Tulare County and what the Veterans Service Office can provide.

These are unique times. There are three generations of veterans right now: the Boomers, Gen X and Millennials. I am a part of the Gen-X generation. Not only are there three prominent generations to serve, but the Gen Z population is starting to make its presence known as well.

Tulare County’s veteran population is estimated at 14,591 or 1% of the state’s 1.3 million veteran population, but don’t let the 1% give you any false notions. California has 58 counties and Tulare County has the 22nd most veterans.

Getting a little deeper, if you take the surrounding counties of Fresno, Kings and Kern because residents often move amongst the counties, the Central Valley represents over 7.5% of the veterans in California. Let’s compare this to the total populations of Tulare, Kings, Kern and Fresno. The total population of these four counties only represents 6.5% of California’s population. This means the Central Valley has 6.5% of the population, but 7.5% of the veterans.

So, there is a significant population that could use our services. The County Veterans Service Office provides a myriad of services to the vet such as helping them apply for:

• Disability Benefits

• Compensation

• Pension

• Education and Training

• Burial Benefits

• Dependent’s and Survivor’s Benefits

• College Fee Waivers

We can also provide veterans with information regarding healthcare and home loans. This is not an exhaustive list of our services, so please call or stop by to make an appointment to speak with one of our amazing representatives to help you navigate the world of VA benefits.

Cecil Webster, the Veterans Service Officer for Tulare County, is a former U.S. Navy, Photographer’s Mate 3. Contact him at the Veterans Services Office at 3348 W. Mineral King Ave., Visalia; by phone at (559) 713-2880 or by email at cwebster1@tularecounty.ca.gov.