The action was taken in response to a CBS News investigation in January in which the group’s former employees described wasteful and extravagant spending on parties, meetings and conferences. Board chairman Anthony Odierno is temporarily overseeing WWP while it searches for a permanent CEO. The charity said new leadership would “help restore trust in the organization among all of the constituencies WWP serves.”

WWP collected $312.4 million in donations in 2014. However, CBS News claimed only around 60 percent of donations were directed toward veterans. Using public records, the network found the charity spent $26 million on conferences that year. WWP disputed some of the report’s allegations in a statement released on March 10.

Odierno claimed WWP actually spent about 80 percent of donations on veterans. The group also said 94 percent of the $26 million in spending “was associated with program services delivered to Wounded Warriors and their families.” Odierno is a retired Army captain who himself received WWP’s assistance when he was injured in 2004.

Odierno said the charity group was now getting its focus “solely back on serving our wounded warriors, their caregivers and their families.” WWP ordered an independent review of its operations and has vowed to rein in spending by implementing new rules.

In Florida, the state legislature and Governor Rick Scott have worked together to give hunting veterans a break.  They passed a bill during the 2013 legislative session which created a recreational hunting and fishing licensing exception for active and reserve duty military service members, disabled veterans, their immediate family members and their assistants during the special events that are regularly held for vet-focused recreation or rehabilitation purposes. The exemption was started as of September 5, 2013, by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

As the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Richard Corbett stated, Florida’s military and disabled veterans gave so much to the state that the state wanted to give something back. Veterans are invited to participate in hunting and fishing events without first having to buy a license or a permit.

The exemption does not mean that active military personnel and disabled veterans can simply go off and fish and hunt without a license. The exception is specifically for participation in special events such as an NRA-organized hunt or a fishing trip sponsored by the Wounded Warriors. The event organizers must still apply for an event permit in order for the qualified exemption to kick in for participants

The permit exemption does mean that the qualified event participants may fish and hunt without a saltwater or freshwater fishing license or a recreational hunting license, nor will they need a permit to hunt Florida migratory birds, waterfowl, turkey, deer, or snook, or to gather spiny lobsters, or shoot during archery season, crossbow season, or muzzle-loading season, if the participant is taking part in an exempted event in which those activities are sponsored. The permit exemption does not cover alligator trapping licenses or permits, tarpon tags, the federal duck stamp or limited entry/quota hunts.

The exemption also does not authorize any fishing or hunting without a license by someone who is not a qualified event participant directly participating in the permitted event.

A number of other states also offer fishing and hunting licensing breaks to veterans: In North Carolina, vets who are 50 percent or more disabled may get a lifetime hunting-fishing license for $10.00. Veterans with service-related disabilities in Iowa can get a lifetime hunting or fishing license for a $7.00 fee. New Mexico offers any veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disabled a free lifetime small-game hunting and fishing license.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800