What is the difference between a Military Service Organization (MSO) and a Veterans Service Organization (VSO), and what is EANGUS? Although the terms seem to be synonymous, there are important differences between the two.
A Veterans Service Organization (VSO) is an organization that aids and serves veterans, servicemembers, dependents, and survivors. They are non-profits under IRS code section 501(c)19. They may also be national, state, county, tribal, or local government organizations or agencies. Some VSOs may provide programming for veterans in their communities, such as job fairs; others may organize events to raise money for a subset of veterans, such as housing for homeless veterans. Some VSOs train individuals to meet federal regulatory requirements to become accredited representatives who can represent claimants before the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) regional offices and its Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Generally, VSOs are congressionally chartered organizations recognized by VA to prepare, present, and prosecute claims. 38 C.F.R. §14.628(d) describes the requirements that must be met for recognition. Each congressionally chartered VSO is listed in 36 U.S.C. Subtitle II: Patriotic and National Organizations. The VA Secretary may make space available in departmental facilities for individuals who work for national VSOs that have been recognized by the Secretary. For example, at many VA hospitals, VSOs have offices and assist with disability claims and processing. VSOs offer their claims assistance free of charge to all veterans. Among congressionally chartered VSOs are MOAA, ROA, American Legion, VFW, and DAV. Although no exhaustive list exists to document all of the VSOs in existence, you can find many accredited ones here: https://benefits.va.gov/vso/index.asp.
A Military Service Organization (MSO) is very similar to a VSO with some exceptions. A MSO is not congressionally chartered. MSOs are not recognized by VA to represent individuals before the VA to prepare, present and prosecute claims for disability or pensions. MSOs generally are organized under IRS code section 501(c)3 or 19 as non-profits, depending on the meeting the criteria of membership (see https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/veterans-organizations). MSOs may be national, state, tribal, or local. MSOs frequently partner with VSOs to advocate on behalf of servicemembers, veterans, dependents, and survivors. EANGUS is considered to be a MSO and not a VSO, as is NGAUS.
— EANGUS National Office