{"id":7198,"date":"2025-01-24T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7198"},"modified":"2025-01-24T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:30:00","slug":"exploring-rural-va-communities-fort-meade-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7198","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Rural VA Communities: Fort Meade, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tni-source-date\"><strong>Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-01-24T21:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n<p>Like the Veterans we serve, <a href=\"https:\/\/vacareers.va.gov\/career-guidance\/rural-jobs\/?utm_source=news.va.gov&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=VHA_DIVERSITY_FY24Q3_BLOG_VANEW_TRAF_BRAN_US_GEN_XXXXXX\">rural communities<\/a> are as diverse and exciting as you can imagine. For many, they offer an opportunity to be closer to family and friends, while some may just enjoy a greater sense of privacy. Perhaps the lower cost of living or even the allure of open space is appealing.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what appeals to you, rural locations like Fort Meade, South Dakota, and the nearby city of Sturgis, have a lot to offer when it comes to enjoying a change of pace.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blackhillsvisitor.com\/learn\/fort-meade\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Fort Meade<\/a> traces its history to the effort to protect the new settlements in the northern\u00a0Black Hills in South Dakota, especially the nearby gold mining area around\u00a0Deadwood. A temporary United States military camp was established in August 1876, on Spring Creek a little north of\u00a0Bear Butte.<\/p>\n<p>The talk of turning Fort Meade into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/black-hills-health-care\/about-us\/history\/\" rel=\"noopener\">VA hospital<\/a> began in the aftermath of World War I, when the military presence at Fort Meade had begun to wane and the demand for Veterans\u2019 health services skyrocketed. However, the final decision to turn the fort into a hospital did not come until the end of World War II.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Work at VA<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<p>Learn more about Fort Meade VA Medical Center and the charms of South Dakota living at <a href=\"https:\/\/vacareers.va.gov\/job-news-advice\/rural-community-profile-fort-meade-south-dakota\/?&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=VHA__FY25Q2_BLOG_VANEW_TRAF_BRAN_US_GEN_XXXXXX\" rel=\"noopener\">VA Careers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"tni-attribution\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/137458\/exploring-rural-va-fort-meade-south-dakota\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether it\u2019s access to the great outdoors or a calmer pace in your everyday life, you can find it in rural VA communities around the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exploring Rural VA Communities: Fort Meade, South Dakota - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether it\u2019s access to the great outdoors or a calmer pace in your everyday life, you can find it in rural VA communities around the country.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7198\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exploring Rural VA Communities: Fort Meade, South Dakota - 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