By Robert Vida Obong, Combat Veteran & CEO of Just 4 Veterans Enterprise
For thirty years, I wore the uniform of the United States Marine Corps. From the sands of the Kuwaiti Liberation to the peacekeeping missions in Somalia, and through the heavy deployments of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, I learned one absolute truth: when a warrior is in the trenches, they deserve the absolute best, fastest, and most reliable tactical support available.
When I retired in 2018, I realized that the toughest battle for many of my fellow service members wasn’t fought overseas—it was fought at home, sitting at a desk, trying to navigate the crushing, labyrinthine bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims process.
Today, as the CEO of Just 4 Veterans Enterprise, I look at the legal and regulatory landscape surrounding Disability Benefits Education Services (DBES), and I see an industry standing on a dangerous knife-edge. The ongoing federal class-action litigation—most notably Jennifer Ford, et al. v. Veterans Guardian—and the broader battle being waged in Congress are not just corporate disputes.
They represent a fundamental crossroad that will either protect a veteran’s freedom of choice or strip away their access to ethical, sensible help, exacerbating an already catastrophic backlog.
Understanding the Trench Lines: Education vs. Filing
The core of the legal debate currently playing out in federal courts rests on an outdated, rigid binary: the belief that assistance can only legally come from a VA-accredited agent, attorney, or traditional Veteran Service Organization (VSO).
At Just 4 Veterans Enterprise, we operate under a strict, clear, and unyielding framework: We are educators, not agents. We do not file claims on behalf of veterans. We are a veteran-centric organization, powered by 100% disabled veterans and independent medical professionals, who provide peer-to-peer coaching. We teach our fellow veterans how to audit their own service records, decode the complex medical syntax of the VA Rating Schedule, and articulate their true, worsening conditions in their Personal Impact Statements.
Yet, lawsuits like Ford v. Veterans Guardian seek to weaponize consumer protection laws to argue that this vital educational coaching is somehow an “unfair trade practice.” They target the private sector’s fee structures—such as charging a contingent fee based on a successful rating increase—while ignoring the immense labor, medical networking, and rapid turnaround times that private consultants deliver.
The Crucial Shield: NAVR and the Push for Modern Regulation
Let me be absolutely clear: the federal lawsuit between Ford, et al. v. Veterans Guardian does not change our stance in supporting the National Association for Veterans Rights (NAVR). If anything, it reinforces exactly why NAVR’s mission is so vital to our survival and why Just 4 Veterans will remain a member of this necessary organization.
As a trade association, NAVR serves as our collective voice, fighting the predatory narrative that labels honest, transparent veteran coaches as “claim sharks.” NAVR’s mission is simple: to advocate for a veteran’s right to private counsel and private choice.
Through NAVR, we are actively pushing back against the GUARD VA Benefits Act, which seeks to criminalize private assistance. Instead, we heavily champion common-sense solutions like the federal PLUS Act or state-level SAVE Acts. These legislative frameworks do not ask for a Wild West; they ask for smart, modern regulation. They would codify the legality of private DBES consulting while enforcing strict consumer protections, establishing reasonable fee caps, and mandating absolute contract transparency. We stand four-square behind NAVR because we believe regulation, not elimination, is the only ethical path forward.
The Looming Crisis: The Human Cost of Legal Uncertainty
While the trials proceed and politicians debate, the ultimate tragedy is that the veteran’s choice is being set aside. This paralyzing legal uncertainty does nothing but hurt the very people the courts claim to protect.
If the pendulum swings toward a complete shutdown of the private DBES sector, we will face a systemic bottleneck of historic proportions:
1. The Overwhelmed VSO Queue: Traditional, free VSOs are full of well-meaning advocates, but they are chronically understaffed and entirely overwhelmed, especially following the massive influx of PACT Act claims. Free help means nothing to a veteran in crisis if the first available appointment is six months away.
2. The Eradication of Ethical Alternatives: Forcing reputable, transparent, and compliant private companies out of the marketplace creates a vacuum. When you eliminate professional, peer-led coaching, you don’t eliminate the veteran’s need for help—you simply drive them toward un-sueable, completely unregulated, offshore bad actors who operate in the dark.
3. A Denial of Autonomy: Forcing a veteran into a government-mandated pipeline is a slap in the face to their autonomy. As adults who led troops in combat, veterans have earned the sovereign right to invest their own money into professional consulting to fight a slow government apparatus.
The Verdict on the Horizon: A Rarity or the New Solution?
The upcoming trial in July 2026 could be a turning point. The precedent set will dictate whether private disability consulting becomes an extinct rarity or is formalized as the permanent, mainstream solution.
If the courts and lawmakers choose to criminalize our industry, they will be turning their backs on a proven system of veterans helping veterans. Just as private tax firms became the normalized, accepted alternative to dealing directly with the IRS, private DBES firms should be recognized as a vital partner in the veteran transition ecosystem.
At Just 4 Veterans Enterprise, we recently completed the PsychArmor Veteran Ready® Certification to ensure our team operates with the highest level of cultural competence and ethical standards. We want regulation. We want compliance. But most of all, we want our brothers and sisters in arms to have access to the good, legal, ethical, and sensible help they deserve.
The system is broken, and until the VA can seamlessly handle the load, the private sector remains the life raft. It’s time to stop fighting the liferafts and start helping us bring our veterans home.