American Samoa Government Office of Veterans and Military Affairs
The territory’s veterans office, created by a governor’s mandate in 1999 rather than by statute. It is the on-island help desk for claims, funerals, and the suicide prevention coordination the territory leads.
Also called: OVMA, Office of Veterans Affairs, ASGOVMA, veterans office, Tafuna, Governor’s Challenge, veterans workstation, VFW, American Samoa Veterans Association.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
Start with something the code makes plain. The American Samoa Code Annotated has forty titles and not one of them is about veterans or the military. There is no veterans department chapter, no veterans commission, no territorial veterans benefits article. The only veterans provisions in the entire code sit inside the government employees title, and they are about hiring and leave.
The office exists anyway. It was established by a Fono mandate executed on April 7, 1999 by Governor Tauese Sunia, authorising an Office of Veterans Affairs to be an advocate on island for active military members, veterans, and their families. It now operates as the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs, based in Tafuna. Its directorship and delegations of authority move by general memorandum from the Governor's office rather than by statute, which is worth knowing if you are trying to work out who currently signs something.
What the office says it does: assist with veterans compensation issues, help with funeral arrangements for veterans, and follow up on benefits reviews. It runs a veterans registration form, points veterans at the Development Bank of American Samoa home loan, and operates a Veterans Computer Workstation, a staffed space with computers and internet for online applications, job searches, and benefits processing. That last one is not a small thing in a territory where VBA's phone line still charges long distance rates.
Since February 2022 the office has been the lead agency coordinating local partner agencies on veteran suicide prevention, as part of the Governor's Challenge under the national campaign. It has partnered with VA Pacific Islands and the Vet Center on mental health summits with the Department of Health, the Department of Youth and Women's Affairs, the American Samoa Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the American Samoa Community College Area Health Education Center, and local providers.
What the office is not: it is not VA, it does not decide claims, and this catalog records no territorial cash benefit, tuition program, tax exemption, or licence benefit that it administers. Those do not exist in American Samoa. What it administers is access.
Two other veterans organisations on island were identified in GAO's 2024 review of VA in the territories: the American Samoa Veterans' Association and a Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Accredited representation is free, and for a claim it is usually the better first call than the phone line to Honolulu.
The office is at (684) 699-2910.
Thresholds
Thresholds for American Samoa Government Office of Veterans and Military Affairs
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Rule
No statute behind it
The American Samoa Code Annotated contains no veterans title or chapter. The office rests on a 1999 governor’s mandate and on general memoranda, not on legislation, so its authority and leadership can change without a bill.
It provides access, not benefits
The office assists with compensation questions, funeral arrangements, benefits follow-up, a computer workstation, and suicide prevention coordination. It does not administer a territorial cash benefit, tax exemption, or tuition program, because American Samoa has none.
Out of date, a broken link, or something else wrong? Say what you found, and an editor checks it against the official source.
Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.