Of the two words "attorney general," it is the word "general" that catches the eye.

A general is one who leads individuals, who sets expectations for those individuals and is accountable to those individuals.

Bob Ferguson is the attorney general for the state of Washington. And as the state's top lawyer, he has taken the lead in protecting and strengthening the rights of Washington's military personnel and veterans.

"Military members and veterans have a friend in the attorney general's office," Ferguson said as he sat in an office at the Ranger and Northwest Airlifter newspapers today.

"We want to help, and we are open to any feedback."

Ferguson has been out getting the word out about the work his office is doing to help veterans.

To that end, two bills requested by Ferguson have been signed into law and will take effect June 12.

House Bill 2171 strengthens economic protections for Washington's military personnel and veterans.

Protections exist under federal and state law to allow the men and women who serve in the armed forces to focus on their duties without worrying about any adverse economic consequences for them or their families.

This new law brings state enforcement provisions for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) in line with federal law and empowers the attorney general to enforce both state and federal acts.

The federal SCRA provides various financial and legal protections for military service members, such as reduce interest rates on preexisting debts, foreclosure and eviction protections, and protections from default judgments.

"We're another cop on the beat protecting our veterans' rights," Ferguson said.

Senate Bill 6208 - the Veterans Pension Poacher Prevention Act - is designed to protect veterans from dishonest financial planners or insurance agents who claim to be veterans' advocates.

Simply put, these scam artists - or "poachers" - convince veterans to "reposition" their assets in order to qualify for Aid & Attendance benefits and buy unneeded financial products.

Problems arise because the poachers fail to deliver on their promises, do not provide full information about other veterans' benefits, and do not reveal the potentially adverse consequences for the financial transactions.

In other words, if a poacher scams a veteran, the veteran can, for example, lose Medicaid eligibility.

"As long as I am attorney general, we will build on protecting our military personnel and veterans," Ferguson said.

"We will move forward."

Generals demand that happen.

The attorney general's office has prepared a Military & Veteran Legal Resource Guide.  Visit www.atg.wa.gov/VeteranMilitaryResources.aspx. The guide can be downloaded.

If you have a complaint or concern, call the attorney general's hotline at 1.800.551.4636. The attorney general's office is compiling data based on these complaints to better serve veterans.