Kerr County Veterans Service Office Adds New Assistant VSO Allsup
In an effort to meet a continuously-growing demand from local military veterans who need assistance matching up with benefits they are due, the Kerr County Veterans Service Office has hired Chase Allsup as its new assistant veterans service officer.
Allsup, a United States Marine Corps veteran, was chosen after rounds of interviews by the Kerr County Veterans Service Advisory Board, and then was officially hired Aug. 14 after garnering unanimous approval from the Kerr County Commissioners’ Court. He will be responsible for informing veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, their family members and survivors of the legal benefits available to them under federal and state laws.
“In recent months, we have seen a tidal wave of new benefits claims being generated by veterans, in part due to the PACT ACT,” said Veterans Service Officer Jennifer Sanchez. “With our other county VSO, Marty Mistretta, called up to active duty for a lengthy and indefinite period in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, it quickly became apparent that we needed help on the local front.”
“Chase has the skillset and the knowledge of the military that will help us provide our free services to local veterans in a more efficient and timely manner,” Sanchez added.
Allsup joining the Kerr County, Texas agency is a coming “home” of sorts. Although he was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, where his mother was stationed in the U.S. Navy, he lived in Kerrville between the ages of 12 and 17. It was here that he acquired a passion for singing and playing guitar, and by the time he was 15 years old he was performing in live venues.
He moved to Phoenix when he was 17, and got his first job as a security guard. Shortly thereafter, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, reporting for training in San Diego, CA, in March, 2012.
He graduated in May that year, having already earned the first of 9 expert badges in rifle marksmanship. Allsup then attended USMC Combat Training at Camp Pendleton and Military Police school at Fort Leonard Wood.
In February 2013, he became a part of the Fleet Marine Force as a military police officer with the 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan.
Through his service overseas, he traveled many places -- from the Philippines to South Korea to Singapore and beyond – growing an appreciation and respect for all the many cultures he would learn about on the job.
In January 2015, he moved on to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, where he served as an MP Officer for Headquarters and the Headquarters Squadron of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. He was promoted to corporal and learned procedures as he served first as a gate sentry and then as a patrolman. When he was promoted to sergeant in August 2018, he took on the role of patrol supervisor. He then attended recruiter school the following year and was stationed in Lansing, Michigan, where he worked Central Michigan as a canvassing recruiter under RS Lansing, 4th Marine Corpus District.
He was medically separated due to an injury in August 2022.
Now, a year later, Allsup finds himself back “home,” where he has taken up the mantle of helping U.S. military veterans – young and old – with everything from transitioning from military life to civilian life to leading those who served long ago to the resources and services that might be long overdue.
“I am eager and driven, and I look forward to meeting and helping every veteran I can,” Allsup said.
The Kerr County Veterans Service Office is located in Suite 118 of the Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main Street in Kerrville. It provides free counseling and advice about various programs and eligibility requirements, assists in completing forms and other correspondence necessary to file a claim and/or an appeal and assists in resolving problems and getting answers to questions about laws and regulations that govern veterans’ benefits.
To contact the Kerr County Veterans Service Office, call 830-792-2203 or email veterans@co.kerr.tx.us.
While Allsup is training and receive his proper accreditation these initial months, clients will continue to be assisted by appointment only Mondays through Thursdays. The office is closed on Fridays.