Mike “Maddog” Sater knows how difficult it can be to return from war. After enlisting in the Army right out of high school and getting injured in Vietnam by a booby trap, Sater depended on the support of others to heal his wounds and help him start a new civilian life. Now he’s giving back. As a chapter service officer for the Disabled American Veterans in Maryland, Sater meets with with vets and helps them face the new battle that awaits them when they return from war: paperwork. Sater has mastered the complex network of government bureaucracy that is the Veterans Administration, and helps returning soldiers check every box and fill out every form they need to receive benefits, treatment and assistance. It’s a task that can be daunting for a veteran suffering from a disability or PTSD, but these are the people who most need help. Sater travels out of state to meet with veterans who have trouble reaching his office, and has a hundred percent success rate for obtaining services for those who stick with him through the arduous application process, which can take months or even years. For his tireless work, Sater was named the 2014 Maryland Veteran of the Year by Maryland’s Joint Veterans Committee. “I can’t express how much that guy has done for everyone,” Joe Cuocci, adjutant for the Disabled American Veterans, told The Advocate of Westminster and Finksburg.
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