About Funky VA Math
With more than 38 years of federal service—including 20 years of active-duty military and 18 years in civilian federal service focused on medical operations—Tom Hurley, a former Army medic, founded Funky VA Math in 2019 with a focused mission: to help fellow veterans reach their VA disability goals by identifying the most effective ways to locate critical medical evidence.
Because as Tom often says, “Without the evidence, there is no case.”
That’s where Funky VA Math found its edge. Built from the trenches of real VA claims experience, Tom developed near-lethal precision in finding, organizing, and aligning medical evidence with the VA’s language and processes. It wasn’t flashy—it was tactical. And it worked. Word of mouth spread quickly, and by 2023, Funky VA Math had earned over 100 verified 5-star Google reviews, driven solely by Tom’s personal commitment to help veterans—mostly pro bono.
But as the need continued to grow, it became clear: one-on-one advising, while deeply rewarding, could only reach so far. Veterans, active-duty service members, survivors, dependents, and caregivers were all facing the same challenges. Tom knew it was time to scale the mission.
Quietly, in 2020, he began working on something bigger. What if there were a way to teach what he had learned—through a format that felt both familiar and timeless? What if he built a magazine?
Not just any magazine—a quarterly, print-based publication that looked and felt like a comic book, but delivered serious, high-impact content. Something tactile. Something that could cut through screen fatigue. The visual format would attract younger readers while also resonating with those who value the clarity of print. This wasn’t about entertainment—it was about engagement.
By mid-2023, the concept had matured. Tom stepped back from routine advising and turned his full attention to creating For The Veteran | By The Veteran—a quarterly print magazine designed to serve the entire veteran community: Active Duty, Veterans, Dependents, Survivors, and Caregivers.
The inaugural issue, SURVIVOR, was released in limited preview in January 2025. Complimentary copies were shared with a diverse audience—including veterans, service members, survivors, caregivers, dependents, and even civilian professionals—to gather honest, unfiltered feedback.
And it worked.
Survey responses offered key insights into font size, layout, visual flow, and tone. But more importantly, they confirmed what readers had been missing from modern veteran media: clarity, authenticity, and something they could truly connect with. Armed with that input, Tom reworked the first issue from top to bottom, refining its design, structure, and delivery—without compromising its purpose.
With those improvements complete, Issue #1: SURVIVOR launched publicly in April 2025, alongside a fully redesigned Funky VA Math website.
Just weeks later, Issue #2: The BDD Process followed, delivering focused guidance for active-duty members preparing to file for VA disability through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) Program.
Going forward, each quarterly issue will explore a major topic facing the veteran community while offering practical tools, lesser-known resources, and a fictionalized storyline that reflects the real-world complexity of the VA process.
Because veterans don’t need more noise. They need clarity, strategy, and something that truly speaks their language.
That’s why Funky VA Math was built.
That’s why For The Veteran | By The Veteran exists.
And that’s why Tom Hurley still answers the occasional call, email, or late-night message—from anyone, anywhere—looking for a way forward.
