Iowa VVA Service Office
The Vietnam Veterans of America Iowa State Council Veterans Service Officers Program office is located at 210 Walnut Street, Room 559, Des Moines, IA. This is the Federal Building and the VA Regional Office is located in the same building.
Scott Freye, Chief Service Officer, is present in this office. In addition, James "Craig" Krouch, Asisstant Chief Service Officer, and Roger Elliott, Administrative Assistant work in this office. Our satellite VVA Office is located in the VA Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Service Officers are Robert "Ernest" Ledtje, Tom Lemons, Clarke Barnes, Jack Rhinehart and Greg Paulline. There are a total of 7 VSOs and one administrative assistant involved in the Iowa VSO Program.
In addition, VVA ISC has several council delegates and chapter officers working as VVA accredited VSOs who serve as County Veteran Affairs directors. This includes Ed Gaudet, Chapter 776, Clinton County, Terry Bradley, Chapter 667, Wapello County and other VVA members serving as County Veteran Affairs VSOs.
Roger Elliot and Ernest Ledtje provide our incarcerated veterans guidance with the claims process. We have a good working relationship with our points of contact in the prisons. When a veteran has a problem or question about their claims, they can have their counselor in the prison email or phone Ernest, Roger, or Scott.
The VA Regional Office, 333, Des Moines, IA has a monthly meeting with the veteran service organizations. The VARO staff informs the VSO's number of pending claims, appeals and upcoming events the RO is having.
The ISC and the VVA service officers provide outreach to different events in the state. In the past year, we attended 3 outreach events in the community. This includes a Vets Day on the Hill, Veterans Tailgate at the Hawkeye Kinnick Stgadium, and a Caregivers Conference for the Elderly. We are scheduled to participate in 2 more soon and intend to expand this in the upcoming year.
The VVA Iowa State Council Veterans Service Officers Program is operated under the management of the Iowa State Council President, Greg Paulline. Day-to-day operation is supervised by the Chief Service Officer, Scott Freye. ISC President Greg Paulline participates with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Commission as a seated Commissioner.
The finances for the VVA Iowa State Council VSO program are prepared by Joe Desmond, CPA, Desmond, PLLC. Financial oversight is managed by President Greg Paulline, Trasurer Ronald Langel and Roger Elliot, Office Assistant.
The VVA Iowa State Council Veterans Service Officers Program currently represents 3,200 veterans.
If you need assistance, please call:
Des Moines Office : 515-323-7548 | Iowa City Office : 319-339-7060
Veteran Service Officers
Des Moines, Iowa Regional Office
Scott Freye, Chief VSO
Scott Freye, Chief Service Officer, has been volunteering in the VVA State Office since February 2007. First as an Administrative Assistant, he has completed the Basic Training Course from NVLSP, attended County Training and has completed the Advanced Course through the VVA National program. He is an accredited VVA, VSO since May 10, 2011. He served in the US Navy from April 1984 until medical discharge in November 1995. Scott is a member of the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America and active with the Iowa State Council.
James "Craig" Krouch, Assistant Chief
Craig is a life member of VVA and joined Chapter 490 in 1996 and served as Scholarship Committee Chair and Treasurer until 2015. He joined the Veteran Service Office in July 2016 as a Service Rep and is now an accredited VSO. Craig served in the US Navy from 1966-1970 aboard the USS Bennington CVS20 and HS8 Helicopter Squadron. Following active duty, he worked in the banking profession as a loan officer, branch manager, and Vice President, retiring in the spring of 2016.
Roger Elliott, Administrative Assistant
Roger joined the Army in 1968 and served in Vietnam in 1969, serving two tours. After 11 years primarily working as a mechanic on farm equipment, he joined the Iowa National Guard as a tank turret repair. He continued with the National Guard and was deployed to Iraq from 2006 to 2007. He retired with 34 years in the Army as Master Sergeant. Roger has been the President of VVA Chapter 490 for 16 years. He has volunteered at the VVA VSO office for 10 years.
Iowa City, Iowa VA Volunteers
Robert "Ernest" Ledtje
Ernest started working in the VSO office at the VA Medical Center, Iowa City in 2008. He became an accredited VSO in 2009. Ernest joined VVA 776 in 2008. He has been on the Board of Directors for VVA 776 for two years and a delegate on the Iowa State Council for about 6 years. He participates with the Honor Guard when possible. Ernest works with incarcerated veterans at Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility, at Iowa State Prison, Ft. Madison, at Iowa Medical Classification Center, Coralville. He meets with incoming incarcerated veterans at the DOC to be sure they know what the VA can do for them, and what they need to do. He served in the United States Navy. Ernest retired rom the United States Post Office.
Thomas Lemons
Tom joined VVA Chapter 776 in 2009. He has been an active member since then. He has been an Accredited VVA VSO for 6 years. Tom served in the US Army in Thailand for 18 months from 1968 to 1970. Tom has an MBA in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University. He retired from the Bettendorf, Iowa Police Department in 2002. He worked at Habitat for Humanity from 2002 until 2009.
Jack Rhinehart
Jack joined VVA in 2017 after becoming involved with the Veteran Service Office as a volunteer. He first worked in the Des Moines office, but now works in the Iowa City VA Medical Center. He is accredited as a VVA VSO. Jack served in the US Army in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. Jack has a BA degree in Mathematics. He is a retired purchasing agent for a farm equipment manufacturing company.
Clark Barnes
Clark is a retired full bird Colonel from the United States Marines. While in Vietnam, he served as a Judge Advocate. He later retired as as civilian District Court Judge. Clark joined VVA in 1998 and has been a member of Chapter 776 ever since. He has served in many capacities in VVA. He has been an accredited VSO for 18 years. He has represented veterans at the Court of Appeals. He has participated as a trainer for the Iowa Association of Veteran Service Officers.
Greg Paulline, President Iowa State Council
Greg joined the VVA in 2000. He is past Treasurer, Vice President and 6-year Past President of Chapter 776, Bettendorf. He remains on the BOD. He was elected ISC President in June 2018. He was accredited as VSO in April 2018. He was appointed to the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs as a commissioner, in 2019. He has a degree in Business and Psychology. He is a retired Social Worker. He joined the US Army in 1970 and sevred in Vietnam in Air Traffic Control from 1971 to 1972.