[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS/
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
COOPERATION IN REINTEGRATION OF
NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND
INVESTIGATIONS
of the
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JUNE 24, 2008
__________
Serial No. 110-94
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
BOB FILNER, California, Chairman
CORRINE BROWN, Florida STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Ranking
VIC SNYDER, Arkansas CLIFF STEARNS, Florida
MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine JERRY MORAN, Kansas
STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, South HENRY E. BROWN, Jr., South
Dakota Carolina
HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona JEFF MILLER, Florida
JOHN J. HALL, New York JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
PHIL HARE, Illinois GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio
JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California
CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado
JOE DONNELLY, Indiana GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
JERRY McNERNEY, California VERN BUCHANAN, Florida
ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana
TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota
DONALD J. CAZAYOUX., Jr., Louisiana
Malcom A. Shorter, Staff Director
______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona, Chairman
ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida,
TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota Ranking
CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas CLIFF STEARNS, Florida
BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also
published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the
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of converting between various electronic formats may introduce
unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the
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C O N T E N T S
__________
June 24, 2008
Page
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/U.S. Department of Defense
Cooperation in Reintegration of National Guard and Reserve..... 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Chairman Harry E. Mitchell....................................... 1
Prepared statement of Chairman Mitchell...................... 31
Hon. Ginny Brown-Waite, Ranking Republican Member................ 3
Prepared statement of Congresswoman Brown-Waite.............. 32
Hon. Timothy J. Walz............................................. 4
WITNESSES
U.S. Department of Defense:
Colonel Corinne Ritter, Director, Army Reserve Surgeon
Forward, United States Army Reserve........................ 19
Sergeant Major Janet Salotti, Chief, Reintegration Office,
Office of Joint Manpower and Personnel, National Guard
Bureau (on behalf of Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum,
Chief, National Guard Bureau).............................. 20
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Major General Marianne
Mathewson-Chapman, U.S.A. (Ret.), Ph.D., ARNP, National Guard
and Reserve Coordinator, Office of Outreach to Guard and
Reserve Families, Veterans Health Administration............... 22
Prepared statement of Major General Marianne Mathewson-
Chapman.................................................... 40
______
American Legion, Joseph C. Sharpe, Jr., Deputy Director, National
Economic Commission............................................ 7
Prepared statement of Mr. Sharpe............................. 35
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Patrick Campbell,
Legislative Director........................................... 5
Prepared statement of Mr. Campbell........................... 32
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
U.S. Department of Defense, Donald L. Nelson, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (Manpower and
Personnel), statement.......................................... 47
Reserve Officers Association, statement.......................... 48
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS/
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
COOPERATION IN REINTEGRATION OF
NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE
----------
TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2008
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:04 p.m., in
Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Harry E. Mitchell
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Mitchell, Walz, Brown-Waite and
Bilbray.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN MITCHELL
Mr. Mitchell. Good afternoon, and welcome to the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) Cooperation in Reintegration of National Guard
and Reserves. This hearing will come to order.
We are here today to address what the Department of Defense
and the VA are doing to help members of the reserve components
reintegrate into civilian life after the return from deployment
to the combat theater. Members of the National Guard and
Reserves units typically disperse more widely upon their return
than those in active-duty units and it is more difficult to
ensure that they receive the readjustment benefits and services
that they may need and have certainly earned.
National Guard and Reserve members are serving at the same
operational tempo as active-duty units. Half of the veterans
from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are members of the
National Guard or Reserve. It is important for DoD and VA to
work together, along with the servicemember and his or her
family, to ensure a good transition from military to civilian
life. Guard and Reserve members return to their civilian lives
with little decompression time. Most are married. Many have
children. And they often find it difficult to reconnect with
families and communities. The skills and emotional attitudes
that are essential in a combat environment present unique
challenges if applied to the civilian life without some
readjustment assistance.
Veterans of the Guard and Reserve, just as those in active-
duty components, can make use of educational benefits,
healthcare, and other readjustment assistance for having served
their country. Unfortunately, excessive bureaucracy makes it
difficult for veterans to receive these benefits, let alone
know what is available. Close cooperation between the DoD, VA,
and the State is essential to ease the transition from military
to civilian life. Assisting veterans and their families
requires that VA be present at demobilization (demob) sites;
that returning Guard and Reserve units be engaged in and be
compensated for reintegration activities at thirty, sixty, and
ninety-day intervals after demobilization; that families be
fully involved; that DoD, VA, and the States fully cooperation
and participate in the reintegration events; and that DoD, VA,
and the States engage in outreach to ensure all Guard and
Reserve veterans and their families know about the services and
benefits available to them.
Congress recognized these needs in the most recent National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Fiscal Year 2008 NDAA
mandates at thirty, sixty, and ninety-day reintegration and
outreach program. The NDAA also requires DoD to create an
Office of Reintegration Programs and a Center of Excellence in
Reintegration within the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(OSD). The reserve components are awaiting policy guidance from
that office so they can proceed.
Despite the slow Federal response, a number of States have
stepped up and created first class programs. I know that in my
home State of Arizona, the VA plays a central role in welcoming
home our Guardsmen. In fact, the VA and the National Guard
Bureau (NGB) are active participants in these programs in
States across the country. But only a minority of States have
them.
At the national level, VA, NGB and OSD for Reserve Affairs
are not showing the same level of cooperation and this is
unacceptable. Let me give you a very recent example. Just last
week the 325th Combat Support Hospital, or CSH, an Army Reserve
Unit based in Independence, Missouri, returned home from a 10-
month tour of duty in Iraq. CSH units experience the absolute
worst that war has to offer on a daily basis. Combat healthcare
providers require the best post-deployment support that we can
provide them. The 325th CSH, while deployed, is composed of
four Reserve subunits from across the country. In some cases,
individuals are deployed with the 325th from other units to
fill certain vacancies. In order to make sure that all the
members of the returning unit are provided reintegration
services, DoD and the VA must work closely together and be
prepared to deliver those services in multiple places
nationwide. This is not an easy task, but it absolutely must be
done.
Our citizen soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines leave
their families and civilian lives to put themselves in harm's
way to protect our Nation. The least we can do is give them the
care and respect that they have earned and deserve when they
come home.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Mitchell appears on p.
31.]
Mr. Mitchell. Before I recognize the Ranking Republican
Member for her remarks I would like to swear in our witnesses.
I ask all witnesses from both panels if they would please stand
and raise their right hand.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Next I ask unanimous consent that
the Reserve Officers Association may submit a statement for the
record. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
[The prepared statement of the Reserve Officers Association
appears on p. 48.]
Mr. Mitchell. Now I would like to recognize Ms. Brown-Waite
for her opening remarks.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am
very glad that we are holding this hearing today, to see how
well VA and the Department of Defense are cooperating in the
reintegration of National Guard and Reserves.
Seamless transition of our servicemembers has not always
been smooth, as we know. And it's equally important for us to
review how this transition is occurring for our National Guard
and Reservists, and active-duty members. State National Guard
bureaus are run independently and provide a variety of programs
in support of returning Guardsmen and Reserves. In Florida, we
have a very strong State program in support of returning
National Guard units. In July of 2005, the State legislature
appropriated funds to establish the Florida Armed Forces
Reserve Family Readiness Program Assistance Fund to help
families of servicemembers during their deployment on an as-
needed basis. This program is available to Florida residents
serving in all branches of the military and it provides much
needed assistance to the families of our servicemembers who may
experience unexpected financial hardships during their loved
one's mobilization, and ensures the family will have the
resources that it needs to sustain itself while the
servicemember is away.
I would like to commend my colleague, Congressman John
Kline of Minnesota, for his fine efforts in developing the
Yellow Ribbon Initiatives to establish a DoD-wide deployment
cycle support program that provides much information and
services, along with referrals and very proactive outreach
opportunities for servicemembers and families throughout the
entire deployment cycle. His legislation, H.R. 2090, would
direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Combat
Veterans Integration Program, to be known as the Yellow Ribbon
Integration Program, to provide National Guard members and
their families with information, services, referral, and
outreach opportunities throughout their entire deployment. H.R.
2090 was included as part of the National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2008, which became Public Law 110-181 on
January 28, earlier this year.
On June 7 of this year, the State of Florida held its first
Yellow Ribbon event in Jacksonville supporting families of the
returning 90 National Guardsmen and their families. The Florida
National Guard is currently working to implement this
statewide. The Minnesota Yellow Ribbon model, as authorized in
the National Defense Authorization Act, is something that all
States should indeed emulate.
I look forward to learning more from our witnesses today on
how they are implementing programs to serve our National Guard
and Reserve components. And I just wanted to also mention, Mr.
Chairman, that when our National Guard units are deployed what
we try to do is to get together with the family members who are
still here to see if there are any needs in the community. And
we try to, especially now during a declining economy, we try,
for example, if there is someone who might be having some
plumbing problems in the house, we try to get some people to
volunteer from the community to help the families. And I think
that this has worked very, very well in our district. And I
would encourage other members to do the same.
I appreciate the opportunity that you have given this
Committee by holding this Committee hearing today. And I thank
you, and I yield back the balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Congresswoman Brown-Waite
appears on p. 32.]
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Congressman Walz?
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TIMOTHY J. WALZ
Mr. Walz. Well, thank you Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
Brown-Waite, and thank you to all our witnesses who are here
today. This is a very important topic. It is not an
afterthought. It is part of the spectrum of care that we
deliver to our soldiers to make sure that their well-being as
well as this Nation's well-being and security is taken care of.
I am very proud to have watched the development of the
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Campaign. I spent 24 years in the
National Guard, in the Minnesota National Guard, and retired as
a Command Sergeant Major out of that fine organization. I know
when I returned back and we were all put in a room, those
combat veterans and those of us who were on service and support
missions, back early in these conflicts we were put in a room
for reintegration and we had a nice talk from the chaplain, and
we watched The Horse Whisperer, and we went home. And I still
am not sure what the message was. But I know we learned it was
not the right way to do it. And I applaud, I applaud our
leaders out in the National Guard and Guard Bureau. We have an
Adjutant General in Larry Shellito in Minnesota with a vision
and an understanding of what needed to be done here. And in
some cases he butted his head up against DoD directives and he
said, ``Um, no, we do not care if you tell us we cannot have
them back for the first 30 days. We are bringing them back. And
we are going to find a way to pay them and we are going to find
a way to bring their family in. And we are going to find a way
to get beyond these institutional obstacles that were put up.''
And they have some data and some metrics we are starting to
measure. One of the things is--I think that is a fantastic
statistic--99 percent of our soldiers who deployed, and by the
way that Red Bull Battalion, our division that went, has the
distinction of serving the longest tour of duty in Iraq of any
unit in the United States military. And some of their numbers
are, 99 percent of them are enrolled in the VA and are captured
with their information. Minnesota has something that goes the
next step, it is the County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs).
And those CVSOs are given the DD-214s immediately upon return
that so we are not tracking them down or trying to find out who
these soldiers are. Unfortunately for our Reserve and our
active-duty forces the same is not true. And so while the
National Guard is in a unique situation of deploying and then
dispersing, they have done a better job of capturing them than
the regular Army soldiers who came back after their Expiration
of Time and Service (ETS) date and dispersed.
So I think, and I agree, that nationalizing to a certain
degree and having DoD and VA work together with the services to
make sure we have a national policy implemented, and one that
works best for each of the States, is the way to go. I would
have to tell you that I am hoping we are going to hear from DoD
today because my concern lies with them. I am seeing great
cooperating out of the National Guard Bureau. I am seeing
fantastic leadership, whether it is Florida or Minnesota or the
other States. But I'm quite honestly seeing some of the same
bureaucratic drag that sees this as an added burden rather than
a force readiness and a force protection issue of making sure,
because all of us hope that we will not need to redeploy those
same soldiers we are reintegrating, but we will, probably more
than likely we will.
So it is in everyone's best interest to make sure that they
and their families are as well taken care of, as reintegrated
as possible. And the research is out there. The will seems to
be out there. And this Committee has been committed to making
sure that we do whatever is necessary to make sure
reintegration is uniform and it can be measured with outcomes
that are positive for those soldiers and for the families. So I
look forward to our testimony today from people who have
experienced this, who are talking with our soldiers and
sailors, Marines and airmen, as we are. And tell us what we
need to do to implement this. Because we're fast approaching
that fourth quarter where DoD is supposed to have this
implemented. And I'm hoping someone is out there today to just
stand up from DoD to tell me how they are doing. And with that
I yield back.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you very much. I ask unanimous consent
that all Members have 5 legislative days to submit a statement
for the record. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
At this time, I would like to recognize Mr. Patrick
Campbell, Legislative Director for the Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America (IAVA), and Mr. Joseph Sharpe, Deputy
Director of the National Economic Commission for the American
Legion. And I would first like to recognize Mr. Campbell and
then Mr. Sharpe for 5 minutes each.
Mr. Campbell.
STATEMENTS OF PATRICK CAMPBELL, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, IRAQ AND
AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA; AND JOSEPH C. SHARPE, JR.,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COMMISSION, AMERICAN LEGION
STATEMENT OF PATRICK CAMPBELL
Mr. Campbell. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Congressman
Walz, thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of
the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. This issue is
very personal to me. As a Guardsman who is still in the Guard,
who also served in Iraq, this is about my experience and about
the experience of the people I served with.
I do want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the
Chairman and the Ranking Member on behalf of all your work that
you did with the GI bill. When I looked at who I was going to
be testifying in front of I said, ``These are two people who
are definitely heroes in the veterans community right now.'' So
thank you for all the work that you've done.
To be honest, writing this testimony has been really hard
for me. I know the Chairman and the Ranking Member have heard
me talk a little bit about this story that I'm about to tell,
but this testimony has taken me down a long road of some
repressed memories. I looked in my journal that I kept while I
was over there, and 3 years ago today we were conducting a raid
in Baghdad. It was one of the first days that we weren't
actually on the tip of the spear. We were just pulling
security, doing what's called an outer cordon. It was late
night. It was clear. Well past curfew, no one should have been
on the road. And then we saw a man start walking toward us. He
got closer. We started yelling, ``Stop!'' He got closer. And
the gunner who was guarding that corner fired a five round
burst, which, you know, had two tracers, it was pretty loud, it
scared everyone. And the man kept coming. He kept firing
warning shots, kept firing warning shots, until the man
literally was standing right in the middle of our group at two
o'clock in the morning. As if he didn't even acknowledge the
fact that he was being shot at, or he was surrounded by
servicemembers. He walked out the other side.
And I remember thinking that every one of us that day had
the opportunity, and probably the responsibility, to shoot and
kill that person because he was a danger to the unit. No one
did. And I remember spending the rest of that night listening
to a particular sergeant, who was my mentor, basically rip into
us for not taking the shot, not making that tough choice.
Because he said that, ``we were pretty [blank], very lucky this
time.'' If he was a suicide bomber, he probably, most of us
would, already be dead. ``Remember we are fighting a war and
your enemy will not show you any mercy. Next time you take the
shot, damn it.''
This person was an exemplary non-commissioned Officer
(NCO). He put his fellow soldier above himself and I looked up
to him. He saved my life many times while I was there and I'm
sad to say that after we got home from Iraq, the first time
that I saw him after that he was lying in a casket. It was this
past Memorial Day and, we had just gotten orders that we were
going back to Iraq. And unfortunately, the armor, the
psychological Kevlar that he put on in order to get himself and
get us through the experience that we were in Iraq, he couldn't
take it off when he got back. The very thing that made him
strongest, that made him our leader, made him the weakest and
made him to be the person that we had to say goodbye to on
Memorial Day.
This hearing is on the intersection between the Departments
of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Integration issues become
especially important for Guard and Reservists because we are
both within DoD and within VA. Now, I will say this. The good
thing is that there are already model programs that have
already been talked about here today. The Beyond the Yellow
Ribbon Program is so far ahead of what everything else that's
currently going on. I can tell you the only time I ever heard
from VA in the first year that I got back was a letter saying
that I got my Social Security number stolen and I should check
my credit report. The first time I went into VA I had to have
someone who was a Committee staffer on this Committee tell me
to go.
The Yellow Ribbon Program is a model program because it
focuses on a holistic approach that deals not only with the
soldier, Guard, and Marine, but also deals with their families.
It gets them into counseling, it gets them a job, and finds
them something to do. Which is important because I truly
believe that idle hands are the devil's playground. But within
that program there are a couple key pieces that even if we
don't implement the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program that we
must have in order to have successful reintegration.
First, is mandatory face to face confidential counseling
with a licensed professional. I cannot tell you how
embarrassing it is to be walking through the aisles of Barnes
and Noble talking about my experiences in Iraq to the Post
Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) on my cell phone. I had
to try to find an aisle where no one was reading books so I
could tell them the story about the time where I had to reach
into someone's cranial cavity and, then had to give the man
mouth to mouth. I shouldn't have to do that over the phone.
Second, is we need to greatly expand the VA outreach
programs. I'm happy to say that the VA has started to outreach
to all those people who have not sought the VA for healthcare.
But that's got to be a first step. We need to have a
relationship that is modeled after the relationships that
college alumni associations develop with their members, that
start before you even become an alumni. That starts before you
become a veteran. The VA needs to be a part of your life the
day you join. You should get your VA card when you enlist. I
mean, when get your ID card, you should already be enrolled in
the VA system.
The last and probably most importantly is that the VA and
DoD need to declare war on mental health stigma. I feel bad but
I've sat in hearings or meetings where people say, ``Oh, we've
taken care of stigma.'' And I looked at them and I said, ``You
know, you've got to be kidding. That program that you just
talked about was pretty much a joke.'' It needs to be a
coordinated effort that deals with a servicemember, their
family, and the public as a whole that tells people, ``It's
okay to get counseling.'' And shows people what that actually
will do for their lives.
I'm beyond my time but I really appreciate this opportunity
and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Campbell appears on p. 32.]
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you, Mr. Campbell. At this time, Mr.
Sharpe?
STATEMENT OF JOSEPH C. SHARPE, JR.
Mr. Sharpe. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee,
thank you for this opportunity to present the American Legion's
views on VA and DoD cooperation in reintegration of the
National Guard and Reserves. The American Legion commends this
Subcommittee for holding a hearing to discuss the importance of
assisting our Reserve component as they make their transition
back to civilian life.
With the ending of the Cold war, the Department of Defense
dramatically downsized its personnel strength. In 1990
Congress, in an attempt to assist separating servicemembers in
making a successful transition back into the civilian
workforce, enacted Public Law 101-510, which authorized the
creation of the Transition Assistance Program, TAP. This law
was intended to assist servicemembers, especially those who
possess certain critical military specialties that could not
easily transfer to a civilian work environment with education
and career services. DoD's TAP and Disabled Transition
Assistance Program (DTAP) are designed in conjunction with the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs to help prepare not only separating servicemembers but
also their families for a seamless transition to civilian life.
Last year more than 386,200 servicemembers were discharged
from active-duty status and more than 500,534 servicemembers
demobilized from active-duty service. As mentioned, Public Law
101-510 mandates pre-separation counseling for transitioning
servicemembers. These programs consist of specific components:
pre-separation counseling, employment assistance, relocation
assistance, education, training, health and life insurance.
DTAP is designed to educate and facilitate disabled veterans to
overcome potential barriers to meaningful employment.
Currently, VA, DOL and DoD operate 215 transition offices
around the world.
VA in the last several years has improved its outreach
efforts, especially its efforts to reach and inform active-duty
servicemembers preparing to leave the military. The American
Legion still remains concerned, however, that many
transitioning Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi
Freedom veterans are not being adequately advised of their
benefits and services available to them from VA and other
Federal and State agencies. This is especially true of Reserve
and National Guard units that are often demobilized at hometown
Reserve centers and National Guard armories rather than active-
duty demob centers.
VA and the Department of Defense have made strides toward
improved outreach. Unfortunately, VA's efforts regarding TAP
are hampered by the fact that only one of the services, the
Marine Corps, requires its separating members to attend these
briefings. This flaw in the system did not escape the Veterans
Disability Benefits Commission and resulted in a recommendation
that Congress mandate TAP briefings and attendance throughout
DoD. The American Legion strongly agrees with that
recommendation. In order for all separating servicemembers to
be properly advised of all of the benefits which they may be
entitled to, it is crucial that Congress adequately fund and
mandate both TAP availability and attendance in all of the
military services.
VA also affords separating servicemembers the opportunity
to start the disability claims process at least 6 months prior
to separating from active duty through its Benefits Delivery at
Discharge (BDD) Program. Unfortunately, this program is not
available to all separating servicemembers with service related
medical conditions as the program is only available at 140
military installations. Necessary measures, including adequate
funding, should be taken to ensure that all separating
servicemembers, including members of the National Guard and
Reserves, have the opportunity to participate in the BDD
process if they so desire.
Finally, America asks its young people to serve in the
armed forces to guard and defend this great Nation and its way
of life. Their selfless service provides millions of Americans
with the opportunity to pursue their vocational endeavors. The
successful transition of the servicemember back into the
civilian workforce must be a shared responsibility, especially
if that servicemember has suffered service-connected
disabilities. There is much talk about seeing this transition
between DoD and VA, but it goes far beyond that. It should be a
seamless transition between all Federal agencies involved in
the Transition Assistance Program.
This concludes my comments. Mr. Chairman, thank you for
allowing the American Legion to present comments on these
important matters. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Sharpe appears on p. 35.]
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you, Mr. Sharpe. I have some questions.
First, Mr. Campbell. In your personal experience with
redeploying back home, what are the major problems you
encounter with the VA or even the DoD?
Mr. Campbell. Well, major problems were, one, that I was
one of those individuals who was attached to a unit. So when I
came home, I separated and I never had anyone checking in with
me ever since I've gotten home. You have the fracturing of the
unit--once you come together, from piecemeal as a unit, and you
go overseas, and you come back and you fracture all over the
place. Usually only the larger masses get some help.
The second problem is, is that, a lot of people didn't even
know that they had a 2-year, it was 2-year back then, a 2-year
window to go use the VA. It was only because one of the wives
of the servicemembers we served with actually worked in the VA,
and came in and did a briefing that anyone found out.
Third is that we still don't require people to go get
counseling. I remember, this is going to be awful to say, the
last person from my unit to commit suicide was on the same
weekend that the VA did a model program for post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) with my unit. They brought half my unit
in to do a counseling program and the other half got to stay
home. Well that same weekend one of the guys committed suicide.
We need to have a concerted effort that goes out to every
single servicemember that comes home that involves them in the
VA at multiple levels. It can't be a one touch and we leave
them. It needs to be a relationship.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Mr. Sharpe, what are the three
biggest issues you currently see facing Guardsmen and
Reservists when they reintegrate after being redeployed?
Mr. Sharpe. The number one issue is that they're not all
benefiting from a comprehensive TAP program. When I returned
from Iraq, we had our demob. Our demob site was Fort Bragg.
Prior to my deployment, since I've already, since I'm with the
American Legion and I've worked with VA pretty closely, I know
the system fairly well. However, when that VA representative
came to talk to my unit their message was not in fact clear.
They sent out a lot of mixed messages. We were told that we had
these VA benefits but since we were a unit made up of
servicemembers from ten different States that we were also told
that depending on which State that you're from, that VA medical
center closest to you, you may not receive any services by the
fact that they're overcrowded. That's a mixed message.
One thing I had told members of my unit, once you return
you're going to be offered a full physical and you need to sign
up for it. The VA representative and the DoD representative in
fact stated that you have a choice between having a full
medical physical and an abbreviated one. That particular day,
practically 95 percent of my brigade signed up for that. And
the very next day they looked at the list and that
representative said, ``Well, all of you have signed up for this
full physical but you need to know what that entails.'' And the
one thing he said was that you're going to have a prostate exam
and you know what's going to happen to you. After he said that,
85 percent ran up to the front of the room and crossed their
names out. Maybe only thirty people had that exam and at the
end of the exam we had two members that came up with
precancerous conditions. And they would have never had known
about that if they had not gone through that exam. So that's
another problem.
The second problem was no one was aware that they were
being offered two years of free medical care. No one understood
that they could also opt with 6 months of free TRICARE. After a
year, a lot of individuals in my unit didn't realize that they
had missed the opportunity to sign up for TRICARE. A lot of
them really didn't know that they had VA benefits. It was like
the briefing that we had meant completely, it did not have a
lasting impact because it was so abbreviated, there were so
many mixed messages, and many of them got the impression that
VA really doesn't want to take care of them. That was the first
concern.
The second was a lot of members of my unit came back with
all type of psychological trauma. We had individuals that lost
their families, ended up homeless, they were sleeping in their
cars. A lot of substance abuse. One evening a bunch of us got
together and someone mentioned, ``Is anyone having any mental
health issues?'' Practically everybody in the room raised their
hand. And then someone asked, ``But where do we go for help?''
So, again, that wasn't made clear to them, that there was a
place to go for that type of assistance. Many individuals had
lost their jobs. Their companies made all type of excuses, of,
``Well, the training program we have, we had then is no longer
in existence.'' Or, ``We have downsized.'' Or, ``We have no
need for you.'' So that was another huge problem.
Again, a lot of these individuals are married. They have
families. They're from all over the country. And the TAP
briefing that we had was just not adequate. And we didn't have
a followup. So when someone is deployed this should be a
natural part of you being in the service. Constant briefings. A
clear understanding of what your benefits are. And kind of an
open door policy. But that was not the case with us. And I've
been deployed twice.
Mr. Mitchell. If the rest of the Subcommittee will indulge
me, just one quick question. When you had your debriefing, or
your discussion as you were redeployed, was there any followup
by mail?
Or was the only thing you had, was it done verbally and that was
it?
Mr. Sharpe. There was very little followup. Now, since I
was already in the VA system and since I knew to apply for a
service connection, and since I was also enrolled in TRICARE,
okay, I did receive some followup maybe 6 or 7 months later.
But when I questioned other members of my unit that had not
applied to VA, weren't aware of their TRICARE benefits, many of
them received nothing because they just didn't seem to know
that they could go to the VA for help. They didn't know that
they could apply. They didn't understand what a service
connection meant. And, as far as the Department of Labor, you
know, they weren't aware that they could go to the one stop
shops, you know, for employment assistance from the Disabled
Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and Local Veterans'
Employment Representatives (LVERs). Very little, very few of
them knew that they could also get assistance for the, you
know, their families and finding homes and that type of thing.
Mr. Campbell. I had a very similar experience. I was told
that I'd get TRICARE paperwork within 6 months of coming home
so that I could re-enroll. I got 6 free months and then I never
got anything. And actually to this day I'm still frustrated
about that because I missed out my opportunity to buy into
TRICARE at a lower cost. And, then I had to pay my school an
exorbitant amount of money to enroll in healthcare when I
didn't need to.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Ms. Brown-Waite?
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to
thank both of our witnesses for their service. Words cannot
express how much your ability and willingness to be in our
military today means to so many people.
I would ask if in your experiences and talking with other
returning servicemembers what kind of programs that you see are
most successful in reaching out to our Guard and Reservists?
One of the things that we have been doing recently is, we will
have a family night where we actually give the information to
the spouses and other family members. A mother, or mother and
father, if the servicemember isn't married, to let them know
what the servicemember will be eligible for. I would like to
hear from both of you as to what else you found that is
helpful.
Mr. Sharpe. I believe there should be a standardized
program for all the Reserve and National Guard. I know some
States are more proactive than others but that shouldn't be the
case. Everyone should have the same opportunities. Right now,
we have veterans moving to various States because they know
that they're going, the benefits are better. The military has
done a great job as far as having mandatory, I guess, workshops
on sexual harassment, or other subjects, other areas of
importance, and that should be one. There should be a mandatory
program that all Reserve and National Guardsmen go through. We
generally have Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act briefings on a regular basis. But there should also
be some more from VA or the Department of Labor, who
consistently comes to the unit, maybe three or four times a
year and give these type of briefings. And, it should be done
during family day. Because if the servicemember misses the
information, then you have a second person that may get it. But
there should definitely be a national program where everyone
gets the same benefits, and it should be mandatory.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Mr. Campbell?
Mr. Campbell. I actually spent this morning talking with a
bunch of veterans service organizations (VSOs) and a private
company that was looking into implementing one of the Dole-
Shalala Commission reports requiring a single portal for
understanding a veteran's benefits. The whole conversation
dealt specifically with the ideas, of answering the question
``What am I entitled to?'' And even if I do know what I'm
entitled to, how do I actually access those benefits? Right now
if you go to the VA Web site or you go to the DoD Web site, I
mean you're going to get lost in Web pages. So one of the
number one priorities is boiling down that information.
Military One Source is a great opportunity for people to call
in but there's no Web site equivalent that shows you what
you're entitled to. That's priority number one.
Number two, the welcome home events, the phone calls, the
e-mails, like I said, it's not going to be just one thing. It's
reaching people in different ways. I don't get e-mails from the
VA. I get letters from the VA. But I come from a generation
that almost deals specifically in text messages and e-mails.
The VA's doing this call center where they're calling 500,000
veterans, which is great. But how else are we touching them?
Are we sending them e-mails? Are we sending letters? I mean,
the VA doesn't have a program where you can sign up and say,
``Hey, send me some stuff about education. Send me some stuff
about small business programs. It needs to be a relationship,
not just a touch and go.
Ms. Brown-Waite. My last question before I run out of time
is the Marines actually make the Transition Assistance Program
mandatory. The other branches do not. Do you feel, if both of
you would reply, do you feel that this should be mandatory for
the other branches of service? That TAP would be of great help
to the servicemembers also?
Mr. Sharpe. Absolutely. At least by going through TAP you
are aware of what benefits that you have. And, and it should
not be toward the end of your career, but it should start as
soon as you sign up to the military. We have visited various
DoD facilities across the country and we've had town hall
meetings with hundreds of soldiers and Marines. And that seems
to be the biggest complaint, of them not being able to access
their benefits and not knowing what's available to them. And it
should be a mandatory program. And I think that would solve a
lot of our problems.
Ms. Brown-Waite. And I think if you combine that along with
Mr. Campbell's suggestion of having an e-mail sign up list----
Mr. Sharpe. Exactly.
Ms. Brown-Waite [continuing]. As benefits change----
Mr. Sharpe. Right.
Ms. Brown-Waite [continuing]. There would be an instant
updating.
Mr. Campbell. That's very funny, because that was the exact
feature that this new program that they were working on would
do. You put in what you would want to find and then every day
it would update what the new programs available under this
subject. Technology can solve a lot of these problems, but we
need to invest in it and actually make it happen. And I also
just want to say that we need to be careful with anything we do
at the end of a tour, because I call it the duffel bag
syndrome. They give you enough stuff the last couple days
you're there to fill up a duffel bag. You keep it in the duffel
bag until about a year later and you're dumping it out going,
you know, ``What is all this?'' It needs to be consolidated. It
needs to be put in a way that's understandable. Hard copy,
digital copy, it needs to be put up everywhere.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you. I yield back the balance.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you.
Mr. Walz.
Mr. Walz. Well, thank you both for your testimony. And when
it is this Committee, and I hope that your fellow Americans,
are thanking you for your service, but I think it should be in
deed and not just in words. So I am pleased to sit on this
Committee that I think is starting to deliver. And I want to
thank, of course, the Legion for decades of work and of
advocating for these very things. And I think there's a new
voice on the Hill, one that is gaining great respectability and
great accountability, and it is the passionate voice of IAVA.
So I thank you for that. And I thank you, and when legislation
comes forward like our Pain Care Relief Bill, I appreciate you
helping advocate for that. It makes a difference being in this
together.
Just a couple of things here that I am hearing. And I
really appreciate, I think you are onto this. This Beyond the
Yellow Ribbon and watching how this worked, and your experience
is exactly right. The prostate example is exactly it. When you
are sitting in those billets and you have been gone from home
for quite a while, and then they tell you that if you go see
these people you might be there an extra day or two, you do
not, you want to be outside the wire in three minutes. And you
will tell them whatever they want to hear. And I had soldiers
who were hurt, and I had to drag them down there myself because
they were concerned about that. So I think that as we are
starting to get this right, and I think in Minnesota where we
have made it part of it, we have brought them back in, we have
paid them on unit training assembly on drill weekends, brought
their families in, made this part of the, you know, it was very
clear cut on what was going to happen, there was much more of
an acceptance.
And I also think you hit on a couple very important points,
of getting it unified, standardized or whatever. I think, Mr.
Campbell your point on the mental health side of this, all of
those who have been in know how critical this is. And it is
difficult to change a culture. It takes a long time. And it is
not just a military culture, it is a culture here in the United
States as we deal with mental health and what we consider to be
acceptable treatment or levels of acceptability. So I am deeply
sorry for the loss of your sergeant. It is a story that we hear
all too often. It is all too, it is all too common.
But I do not think you should be surprised at what is
happening and the slowness to get this done. We have had, and I
just want to give you this. We have witnesses that testify in
front of us, expert witnesses that are brought into this panel,
that write books like ``How the Helping Culture's Eroding Self-
Reliance,'' ``Addiction Isn't A Brain Disease, Congress,''
``Stressed Out Vets, Believing the Worst About PTSD and Mind
Games,'' ``Senate Mental Health Parity Bill Ill Conceived and
Wrong.'' There is still a very strong emphasis here of saying
that these are things that really are not that big a problem.
And I think we have to be very realistic as we are trying to
implement these and push them forward that you are
simultaneously battling the idea that maybe this is not needed.
And I said what we need to be able to prove is, and what I am
concerned about is, prove the metrics that we are getting
something out of this. Prove that we actually are doing the
things that we say we are going to do. Be able to prove the
quality of life. And I think that is what we are starting to
see in Minnesota because the outcomes are what was most
important and they back planned from the outcomes. What they
wanted was healthy families, healthy warriors at the point that
they were back into the society and figuring out how to get
them there.
So I have a couple of questions, again. I am asking you
both to speculate on this. Why do you think we experience such
resistance from the VA and DoD in allowing us just to simply
register people with their DD-214 to the VA immediately? Mr.
Campbell, you said you even took it a step further and said the
day you raise your hand is the day you should be enrolled in
the VA. I said if we cannot do that, at least the day you leave
you should automatically be enrolled. And I get the answer,
things like, ``Well, that is personal data,'' and again, it is
we cannot force someone to enter into the system. We are not
forcing them to enter into the system. We are forcing them to
capture the data and be available, that it is there. And so I
am just, your opinions from the two of you, why do you think we
experience that resistance? They give me things like they are
afraid we will lose the data. Now, if there is anybody in here
who does not find that, if it were not so sad it would be
humorous, about the VA talking about losing data. Because none
of our County Veterans Service Officers have done that, who are
trying to enroll them. So I am just curious.
Mr. Sharpe. My opinion as far as spending some time working
with the VA and visiting many of the VA facilities around the
country, and also when I was on active duty I was in the
medical corps, so my last assignment was Walter Reed, is that
both institutions are just overwhelmed. When we deployed back
to Fort Bragg and we visited Womack there were just so many
veterans coming, I mean, there were so many people demobing and
leaving Fort Bragg. The hospital staff was obviously stressed
out. They really didn't want individuals to go through the full
physical because they didn't have the staff members to do it.
Mr. Walz. Mm-hmm.
Mr. Sharpe. Same thing with the VA. A lot of VA facilities
are underfunded. You know, staffing is a problem. They would
rather just take the easy road when they feel like they're
overwhelmed and can't handle it anymore. And I think that's the
big problem, is that we just don't have enough facilities to
handle it. We're still closing VA hospitals. We've closed half
of DoD medical facilities. Prior to being in the Civil Affairs
Military Occupation Specialties (MOS), I was in a combat stress
unit. We had 13 such units across the country. Eight of them
were demobilized. So I had to find another unit, another MOS to
get into. So we just didn't, for this war we just didn't have
the medical capacity to handle the huge numbers of individuals.
Mr. Campbell. I've always said that if all the people who
needed help from the VA were to all ask for help at once the VA
would break underneath the weight. And I think that that's a
problem. I remember the first time this issue came up, an
office was asking me about a bill that would require this same
thing. And the first line we got back was, ``Oh, it's a Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
protection. You can't share information.'' And I kept thinking
to myself, ``It's similar,'' in HIPAA there's waiver for
similar populations. And what it came down to me, basically,
was they don't look at servicemembers as a similar population
to veterans, which to me when you're talking about seamless
transition, you're making a nice big gorge in between the two,
and where it doesn't need to be. Only because we have drawn the
lines like that. No one in their right mind, draws lines like
that. It's all one part of the process. You're a student and
then
you're an alumni. You're a servicemember and then you're a veter
an.
Mr. Walz. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you.
Mr. Bilbray.
Mr. Bilbray. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, Mr. Campbell,
I apologize for missing your testimony but I appreciate your
candor and your personal experience on this. So we pretty well
agree that we should try to have as uniform structure as
possible across the services. I hope you all, the challenge is
going to be the Reservists. I mean, we sometimes forget that we
are actually 50 sovereign countries that have joined together
into a federation. And the ability for the Federal Government
to always be imposing on those States certain standards is an
interesting tightrope we have been pulling for a long time.
Though I have to say, your points, both of you, is the
point that, I have to say just coming from local government
that if you were, we were talking about a certain population
that was homeless, a population that had committed crimes, a
population that, what, may not even be legally present in the
United States, the access and information and the access to
services are so pre-structured for those populations better
than what we have with the VA and veterans. There are
nonprofits out there falling over themselves, getting Federal
grants to provide services to people that have never earned the
right of these services. And that is mandated by so many
different laws that those, that information has to be available
and those groups or agencies are serving it, to where sadly we
do not give the same type of attention to those who have earned
the right of these services. And I guess I always try to remind
people these are, this is not a welfare program. These are
earned privileges that were earned out in the field by working
on it.
The question is, Mr. Campbell, you talk about the use of
technology. When you get a phone call from the VA, is it a
personal phone call? Is electronic reverse 911?
Mr. Campbell. I've never gotten a phone call from the VA. I
have gotten a phone call from the DoD and it is, it is one of
those calls that we used to do when we worked on campaigns
where it, it was an automatic dialer.
Mr. Bilbray. Yes.
Mr. Campbell. And then as soon as you picked up you would
be then, there would be a long pause and then they would get
you to a live person. And it would say, ``Sergeant Patrick
Campbell, please hold for the PDHRA, Post Deployment Health
Reassessment Team,'' and then another pause. And then you would
talk to someone who was a licensed physician assistant who had
only 1 or 2 days of actual mental health training.
Mr. Bilbray. Okay. So they are using a form of the reverse
911? Because it, you know, we have used that now for disaster
preparedness and voting and everything else now, to where you
literally can customize it and get ahold of people who on a
certain cause saying, you know, because you are putting notice
that you have this, this, and this down there. I will tell you
something, the biggest challenge I have is that as somebody
that was born at a naval reservation, you know, grew up going
from one Navy base to the other, I think there is 10 years of
my life between when my father died and when I started in
college that I was not either in the military establishment, on
VA going to college, or working in government. Bureaucracies
inherently are insensitive and ineffective. And a big
bureaucracy tends to be bigger than that.
My question though is that working on this population, I
think that we have to be talking about not just the services
that are not or are available to you once you get into the
States. I think we have grossly underestimated, especially to
Reservists, the impact that we have had that modern
transportation has done to the veteran when they come back. I
have worked with law enforcement where the suicide rate is
statistically higher, of the problem of going from in harm's
way and then coming home to the wife and kids, and going back
and forth, and the psychology effect. And I just ask anybody to
think about, those of us in Congress, when you wake up in the
morning and you try to figure, ``Am I in the district, or am I
in Washington? Where am I?'' Veterans go through this whole
process, of where am I. I think there is really a gross
underestimating about the effect of pulling somebody out of a
war zone, flying them back in a couple days, and putting them
in with their family immediately. And not understanding that
until Vietnam there was always a decompression. There was
always more ability to brief and debrief before you were put
out onto the street. And I think that as tough as it is for our
regular forces our Reservists are hit the hardest. I do not
know where we find the system, and I think maybe working with
our veterans organizations that actually being these agents, I
think that we probably ought to do more at literally
contracting to our veterans organizations, as contractors of
the United States Government, just as we do with certain
nonprofits for other targeted populations and do as much for
our veterans that we're willing to do for a hell of a lot of
other people running around this country who did not earn that.
Any comments about that, Mr. Sharpe?
Mr. Sharpe. I agree with you. I'm still in Reserves. We're
currently training individuals to go all over the world. I was
involved in a training exercise a few months ago where we
trained about 75 individuals, Army Reservists and Navy. At the
end of the 4 weeks, we sent them to 6 different countries. And
during that time, you know, we're trying to prepare them not
only to go into theater but what it's going to be like for them
once they return. And so of course we try and give them a
briefing of the benefits that they may not be aware of.
A lot of them do come back within a few days. They're back
home with their families. And because of that there are a lot
of adjustment problems. As I mentioned earlier, many of them
are having problems with employment and employers. We know that
a lot of employers now are reluctant to hire Reservists because
they know they're going to be deployed more than once. We have
employers that are afraid of PTSD. They're not really sure what
that is. We have employers that are asking for individuals' DD-
214s. They want to see if they're service connected. Once they
find out they're service connected, they will let them go. And
those are all the problems that we're encountering now.
With the universities, a lot of the universities are
discovering that these veterans are not prepared to come back
into the classroom. They don't know what to do for them. We're
trying to get a lot of them to start setting up mental health
programs on campuses to take care of that. Luckily, the
American Legion has 15,000
posts across the country so we've instituted a lot of our own pr
ograms.
Mr. Bilbray. Does the American Legion get any Federal funds
to provide the support facilities for veterans?
Mr. Sharpe. No, we don't. It's all from membership and a
lot of fundraising. My post here in Washington, we work a lot
with Walter Reed and a lot of the things we do for Walter Reed,
the soldiers there, comes out of our own pockets.
Mr. Bilbray. Well, thank you. I know this may be a
controversial statement, Mr. Chairman, but I think that we, I
know my time is up. But I think we need to take a look at the
possibility of providing the same type of grants to our veteran
organizations to provide these services as we have for other
groups to provide targeted populations. I yield back.
Mr. Campbell. Can I actually just say one thing about that?
Mr. Mitchell. Yes.
Mr. Campbell. H.R. 67 did something similar to that, not to
the veterans service organizations, but to the county veterans
service organizations. And I think there right now is a battle
between the Senate and House versions of that. And I think for
ever dollar we spend in a county service organization, I think
a State gets $12 into the economy because, you know, they are
so successful at helping people find their benefits. And I
think this has already been passed through the House. You've
already made an investment to say that something like this is
important. We just need to actually see it all the way through.
Mr. Bilbray. And Mr. Campbell, I was the Chairman of San
Diego County when we founded our county veterans services. So
thank you for bringing that up.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. And one last question, Patrick, to
you. Do you believe that when you're talking about the outreach
program, that TV would help? There's nothing on TV now. Would
TV help?
Mr. Campbell. We actually are implementing a large campaign
with Ad Council. Ad Council, the people who do the Smokey the
Bear ads. Because we believe that, we need to be reaching out
to veterans where they are. That's going to be TV. That's going
to Internet ads. It's going to be all forms of reaching out.
And we encourage DoD and VA to work with us to help, echo that
campaign. Part of that's going to be demystifying. The idea of
combat stress. Rebranding mental health issues. But also
getting out a central location, bringing everyone to a central
location, saying, ``This is where you find your resources. This
is where you find your benefits.'' That reaching out and
centralization of infomation is what this generation of
veterans needs.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Sharpe and Mr.
Campbell, for not only coming today but also for your service
to this country, and to the groups that you represent. Thank
you very much.
I would like to welcome the second panel to the witness
table, if they would. And I will begin as the panel takes their
seats. For our second panel we've invited the OSD Reserve
Affairs to talk about their progress on the NDAA mandated
Yellow Ribbon program. And rather than provide a live witness,
Donald Nelson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Reserve Affairs, submitted written testimony.
[The statement of Mr. Nelson appears on p. 47.]
Mr. Mitchell. If any Members have questions, we can submit
these for the record.
At this time I would like to recognize Colonel Corinne
Ritter, Director of the Army Reserve Surgeon Forward for the
U.S. Army Reserves; Sergeant Major Janet Salotti, U.S. Army
Retired, who is the Chief of Reintegration of the Office of
Joint Manpower and Personnel for the National Guard Bureau; and
Major General Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, U.S. Army Retired,
who is the National Guard and Reserve Coordinator for the
Office of Outreach to Guard and Reserve Families of the
Veterans Health Administration. Major General Mathewson-Chapman
is accompanied by Dr. Edward Huycke, Chief Department of
Defense Coordination Officer for the Veterans Affairs
Administration; Dr. Alfonso Batres, Chief Readjustment
Counseling Officer for the Veterans Health Administration; and
Karen Malebranche, Executive Director for OEF/OIF for the
Veterans Health Administration; and Bradley Mayes, Director of
the Compensation and Pension Service for the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA). At this time I would recognize Colonel
Ritter, Sergeant Major Salotti and Major General Mathewson-
Chapman for up to 5 minutes each. And we can begin with Colonel
Ritter.
TESTIMONY OF COLONEL CORINNE RITTER, DIRECTOR, ARMY RESERVE
SURGEON FORWARD, UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE; SERGEANT MAJOR JANET SALOTTI, CHIEF, REINTEGRATION
OFFICE, OFFICE OF JOINT MANPOWER AND PERSONNEL, NATIONAL GUARD
BUREAU, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (ON BEHALF OF LIEUTENANT
GENERAL H. STEVEN BLUM, CHIEF, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE); AND MAJOR GENERAL MARIANNE MATHEWSON-
CHAPMAN, USA (RET.), PH.D., ARNP, NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE
COORDINATOR, OFFICE OF OUTREACH TO GUARD AND RESERVE FAMILIES,
VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS; ACCOMPANIED BY EDWARD C. HUYCKE, M.D., CHIEF
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COORDINATION OFFICER, VETERANS HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; ALFONSO
BATRES, PH.D., M.S.S.W., CHIEF READJUSTMENT COUNSELING OFFICER,
VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS; KAREN MALEBRANCHE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OEF/OIF
SECTOR, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS; AND BRADLEY G. MAYES, DIRECTOR, COMPENSATION
AND PENSION SERVICE, VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
STATEMENT OF COLONEL CORINNE RITTER
Colonel Ritter. Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, distinguished
Members. I'm Colonel Corinne Ritter representing the Army
Reserve in the reintegration of our soldiers into their
communities in their organic units following deployment. I want
to thank sincerely the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and
its Subcommittees for their unwavering support of our soldiers
and their families.
To date, over 27,000 soldiers have deployed overseas this
year and 195,000 have mobilized since September 11, 2001. The
Army Reserve takes a holistic approach to the reintegration of
soldiers back into their civilian communities in bringing them
back to their families, their jobs, and their prior lives.
Prior to deployment, and during the deployment, and especially
following the deployment, our Yellow Ribbon Program, now
mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008,
assists the soldiers and their families in gaining access to
information, services, referral and proactive outreach
opportunities throughout the entire deployment cycle.
This is a departure from past deployments in that it's
phased throughout the deployment cycle. Not just at the end of
the deployment. The four phases include pre-deployment,
deployment, demobilization, and post-deployment reconstitution.
Our major supporting commands, our direct reporting units, the
brigades, the battalions, and their subordinate units, are
staffed with the personnel to assist in the coordination of
reintegration.
The Department of Defense is aware of our challenges in
administering this program. The Army Reserve is proud of its
family portals. The Web site contains a wealth of information
and Web links to assist the family whether the soldier is
deployed or not. This Web portal is emphasized through various
commanders' conferences and contact with family members and our
strong family program coordinators. Our relationships with
various employers cannot be understated. The Chief of Army
Reserve, Lieutenant General Stultz, takes an active role in
nurturing these relationships, ensuring employers realize not
only how much we value their support but also informing them of
the value added of hiring and maintaining Army Reserve
soldiers.
The Army Reserve today and the VA have fostered an
excellent relationship, grassroots type, through programs such
as the Post Deployment Health Reassessment events. They're not
all phone-in events. There are many events that are scheduled
at our Reserve centers and the VA is always on site as needed.
I wanted to add that. Last weekend, we attended the VA right
here in Washington, DC's welcome home celebration. General
Stultz was a keynote speaker. And the VA is also part of the
Army Medical Action Plan's Committee along with us. The VA's
also working to include us with their new disability evaluation
program that's just kicked off over at Walter Reed. And last
fall, the Army Reserves kicked off its Warrior Family
Assistance Center, where we have a centralized family
assistance program. Not in every State, but where the soldiers
and their families can call into our headquarters down at Fort
McPherson.
So these programs serve as a safety net, just not for the
soldiers but for their families as they move through the
deployment cycle. Again, thank you for this opportunity and I
look forward to answering your questions.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Sergeant Major Salotti?
STATEMENT OF SERGEANT MAJOR JANET SALOTTI
Sergeant Major Salotti. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. I am
Retired Sergeant Major Janet Salotti. I'm the Chief of the
National Guard Bureau's Reintegration Office as well as the
National Guard's Representative in the Secretary of Defense's
Office of Reintegration. I am here today to respond to the four
written questions that the Committee sent to Lieutenant General
Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
In regard to your question regarding how the number of
National Guardsmen that are deployed and what the National
Guard Bureau is doing to reintegrate these returning
servicemembers, over the past 7 years more than 270,000 members
of the Army and Air National Guard have deployed overseas. Of
those, more than 68,000 have deployed more than once. Right now
there are more than 33,000 Army and Air National Guard
Personnel ordered to duty overseas.
Title 10, section 1142 requires pre-separation counseling
for all members of the armed forces who serve 180-plus days of
active duty. Mandatory pre-separation counseling covers
healthcare, education, VA, and employment benefits. In most
cases, this transition assistance is currently provided for
Guardsmen and Reservists returning from an extended combat
deployment in briefings at the demobilization station before
they reconnect with their homes, families, and civilian jobs.
However, a May 2005 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
report found that enhanced services could improve transition
assistance for the Reserves and National Guard. The report
concluded that members of the Reserve and National Guard get
information similar to that provided to our separating active
component servicemembers but not the time to participate fully
in a transition assistance program.
In response to this need for better support, the National
Guard in several States built programs to augment the Federal
transition support program. The National Guard Bureau provided
some of the funds used to do this. In some cases, State
governments have provided funds of their own. So far during the
current fiscal year, the National Guard Bureau has distributed
a total of $4.9 million to over 20 States so that they can
execute their reintegration activities. Additionally, several
other States have conducted reintegration events without
Federal funds.
In the fall of 2006, the National Guard Bureau led a
working group that captured the local demobilization and
transition support best practices of the first nine States to
build their own programs. With the encouragement of the
National Guard Bureau six additional States have organized
their own programs. Last year's National Defense Authorization
Act requires DoD to establish a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Program. Since the National Guard Bureau had already created a
template based on the best practices of existing programs, the
Bureau offered its template and to contribute manpower to the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs to help staff a Yellow Ribbon Program Office in order
to implement the requirements of the NDAA for fiscal year 2008.
OSD decided to create its own guidance instead.
In May of this year, in the absence of any guidance from
OSD, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau provided to the
States interim program guidance for conducting reintegration
activities in the Army National Guard. NGB is in the process of
formulating interim guidance for the Air National Guard as
well. While not all soldiers and airmen currently receive the
benefits of the program, the bottom line is that using the
resources the National Guard has, we are quickly working toward
this goal.
You asked if the National Guard had received any funding or
instructions for the implementation of the Yellow Ribbon
Program. Assistant Secretary of Defense Hall sent a 3 March
2008 letter to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, among
others, stating the Department of Defense is committed to
establishing a new office for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Program and fielding services under the program no later than
the fourth quarter of this year.
You also wanted to know about our relationship with the
Department of Veterans Affairs. The National Guard Bureau has a
3-year-old memo of understanding with the VA defining how to
share information and work together. This memo is a template
that most States and territories have adopted to define their
own relationship with the VA. In these agreements the Bureau,
VA, and the States agree to assist each other at the local and
national level to provide transition services to Guard members.
Forty-seven States and territories have signed a memo. Five
more are developing agreements. And two States believe that a
formal agreement is not necessary given the close relationship
between the VA and the local Guard Bureau.
And you further asked where the greatest unmet National
Guard needs for the Yellow Ribbon support. In the next year and
a half, there are elements of 12 National Guard brigade combat
teams from 11 different States scheduled to deploy. Eight of
those States do not have a well developed reintegration
program.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you very much. Major General Mathewson-
Chapman?
STATEMENT OF MAJOR GENERAL MARIANNE MATHEWSON-CHAPMAN
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. Good afternoon, Mr.
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for
inviting me to speak about the cooperation between the
Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, the Department of Defense,
DoD, the National Guard and the Reserves. From the start of
fiscal year 2002 through the first quarter of 2008, slightly
more than half of the returning servicemembers from Operation
Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom were members of the
Reserve or the National Guard. I am pleased to report VA and
DoD are coordinating their efforts more closely than ever to
ensure our newest veterans reintegrating into their communities
are being offered all of the benefits and services to which
they are eligible. I am accompanied by a team of subject matter
experts if you have specific questions for each one of them and
they have already been introduced.
My written statement, which I ask be submitted for the
record, provides a detailed description of VA's outreach
efforts for non-severely injured National Guard and Reserve
members during the four phases of the deployment cycle. And we
have a graphic for you to look at.
[Slide]
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. And we've taken only four
phases from the deployment cycle. The pre-deployment phase,
during deployment at the demobilization sites, immediately
post-deployment, and on a continuing basis throughout the
lifetime of the veteran. Please note this slide and also the
four phases of the deployment cycle. In each one of these
phases VA works closely with families, communities, counties,
State governments, to coordinate efforts and ensure that we
cast a net as wide as possible to inform our Nation's veterans
of VA's services, benefits, and healthcare.
During the pre-mobilization phase, VA supports efforts for
early contact to National Guard members, Reserve members and
family members during the pre-mobilization phase of deployment.
Members and families learn about VA's services and benefits
during the Soldier Readiness Processing, (SRP) events held
prior to mobilization. This outreach effort continues
throughout the deployment phase as VA collaborates with each
military service, family members, and programs, and other
training events. Families are a vital force in guaranteeing
veterans know how to access the care and services they need. VA
works with the National Guard family programs and many VA
facilities conduct continuous welcome home events and town hall
meetings for returning servicemembers and their families.
Moreover, everyone inducted into the five military branches
since November of 2004 has received a VA benefits pamphlet at
the Military Entrance Processing Station. This pamphlet
provides basic information on VA benefits and services at the
start of their early military career.
Our latest efforts to expand services during the deployment
phase represents collaboration between the two departments as
we stand up a comprehensive standardized process for VA
enrollment during the mandatory demobilization enrollment
procedures at 12 Army sites. This pilot program began in May
28, 2008, and through the first half of June has already
contacted more than 1,000 separating members of the National
Guard or Army Reserves at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Camp
Shelby, Mississippi. VA has enrolled approximately 80 percent
of these veterans and we plan to expand this program to the
other services over the next few months.
During the demobilization process, VA also participates in
the Transition Assistance Program, and the DTAP programs and
briefings where servicemembers again are informed of the array
of benefits and services available to them. They are also
instructed in how to complete the VA enrollment application and
VBA staff advise on what evidence is needed to support their
disability claims.
During the post-deployment phase VA and DoD conduct the
Post Deployment Health Reassessment as was just mentioned
earlier for Guard and all of the Reserves. VA's PDHRA event is
threefold. We enroll servicemembers. We provide information on
VA benefits and services and provide assistance in scheduling
followup appointments. Almost 73 percent of the Reserve
component PDHRA referrals were either to a VA vet center or a
VA medical center.
In addition to TAP, DTAP, PDHRA and welcome home events at
VA Medical Centers, VA conducts direct outreach by telephone as
part of the Secretary's recently announced Combat Veteran Call
Center Campaign to contact every OEF/OIF veteran, including
members of the National Guard and Reserve who have separated
from service but who have not yet enrolled in VA healthcare.
Local OEF/OIF Program Managers at VA facilities and network
representatives are provided referrals in their geographical
areas to conduct followup contact should the veteran want
additional information about enrollment, VA benefits, or other
types of services.
Since May of 2005, as was also mentioned, VA has partnered
with the National Guard with a national memorandum of
understanding to allow access for VA staff members to educate
troops and families on VA benefits and services. In 2006, we
participated and trained the 54 transition assistant advisors
who were hired by the National Guard and trained by VA to
provide our conduit, our link, to the National Guard and
Reserves in the State to provide information and conduct
outreach in each State and facilitate referrals for VA
healthcare and benefits.
Additionally, outreach materials are distributed to
National Guard and Reserve members in collaboration with DoD.
VA published and distributed one million copies of a new
brochure that summarizes healthcare and other benefits
available to members of the National Guard and Reserve when
they return back to their civilian life.
VA's mission is to care for those who have borne the battle
and it is a mission we take very seriously. Every day our
clinicians and staff are developing robust strategies and
outreach to distribute information to National Guard and
Reserve members in collaboration with DoD. We thank the
Subcommittee for their interest in this matter and we thank DoD
for their cooperative efforts in supporting our newest veterans
who are members of the National Guard and Reserve. This
concludes my prepared statement. My colleagues and I are ready
to answer any questions you may have on this topic.
[The prepared statement of Major General Mathewson-Chapman,
and the referenced slides, appear on p. 40.]
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you very much. And Major General
Mathewson-Chapman and the support you have with you, my first
question is for all of you. And I have heard what you are
talking about, all of the efforts you have made. But, if you
heard the first panel, one of the things they said over and
over is they do not know about this stuff. There seems to be a
lack of, you have all this printed material, you have all these
people on staff, but it is not getting down to the people who
need it. Last week Secretary Peake lifted a decades old ban on
the authority to purchase media advertising, allowing the VA to
use TV media for outreach. This is important for reaching
veterans that are widely dispersed. Will you be able to use
this new authority? And let me ask, it is a couple part
question so I am going to ask it all at one time. Will you be
able to use this new authority to advertise the reintegration
programs? That is one. Two, I know the Disability Assistance
and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the Veterans' Affairs
Committee requested an outreach plan due last October and has
yet to receive that plan. Will you have a preliminary plan for
the TV outreach available by the second week in July? And the
third question, I would like to ask you to please integrate
this new authority into that plan to show explicitly how it
would be paid for with the current budget authority.
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. Mr. Chairman, I'll have to
take that for the record. We just heard about this last week so
we haven't formulated a full plan yet on how this is going to
be instituted.
[After consultations with VA, the Subcommittee staff has
learned that the oversight plan for media outreach is coming
out in December and will be provided to the Subcommittee at
that time.]
Mr. Mitchell. My understanding is that you will implement
this, the TV? I mean, I understand, you have the authority to
buy TV and as Mr. Campbell said earlier there is an outreach by
his group and other VSOs to go not only on TV but also online
with other types of media. And they would hope that there would
be some cooperation so that they could have a full blown
program that people can understand what the services are that
you are providing that many of them are not taking advantage of
because they do not know about it.
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. Absolutely.
Mr. Mitchell. The next question I have is for Sergeant
Major Salotti. You stated that General Hall sent a letter March
3 this year to Lieutenant General Blum stating OSD's commitment
to establishing a new Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
Office no later than the fourth quarter of this year. The
fourth quarter begins in less than 2 weeks. Has OSD provided an
updated timeline on establishing this office or provided
guidance on setting up nationwide Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Programs?
Sergeant Major Salotti. No sir, they have not.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. And Colonel Ritter, is it accurate
to say that the Army Reserve is waiting for OSD to provide
guidance and funding? And have you been given any indication as
to when OSD is going to do that?
Colonel Ritter. No, we have not. We have formulated our own
plan, though, and put together what we're going to do with our
Yellow Ribbon Program and identified a budget for it.
Mr. Mitchell. Sergeant Major Salotti, one last question.
Yellow Ribbon Programs require funding. Has OSD given you
resources to implement these programs, or information about how
OSD intends to fund these programs?
Sergeant Major Salotti. No sir, they have not.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Colonel Ritter, is the Army
Reserve capable of tracking the location of every member of a
Reserve unit after it demobilizes and making sure that every
member received reintegration assistance?
Colonel Ritter. Yes sir, we are. And going back to the
325th Combat Support Hospital, I have a break out with me right
now to show where those soldiers dispersed to throughout the
country by State. I can show you between Independence,
Missouri, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbus and others, if
you'd like to, we can track our soldiers.
Mr. Mitchell. And one last one, Colonel Ritter. Does the
Office of Chief of the Army Reserve have reintegration programs
in place?
Colonel Ritter. I want to answer that, we have some of the
safety nets I spoke about in place, like PDHRA, part of our
reintegration program, as we roll it out. But the plan right
now is being implemented.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Congresswoman Brown-Waite.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sergeant Major
Salotti, how can you run a program of reintegration if you do
not even know what the guidelines are and what your funding
amount is going to be? Did I understand it correctly? And I am
not criticizing you. I am just imagining someone being in your
position. How do you do what you have to do without having the
known resources?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Ma'am, the National Guard is
actually running its own vision by virtue of the fact that I
was very instrumental in the legislation in working with
Representative Kline's office and working with the model States
that were already using programs, Minnesota in particular, sir.
We are doing an estimate, if you will, based on what our States
are providing us on what it is currently costing them to
actually run their programs. Working very closely with the Army
Guard, the Army Guards program is very robust. And as I said we
are also starting to work with the Air Guard to implement a
similar program for them. So we are using estimates from our
States as well as what the Army Guard is already familiar with
as to what they have currently spent on the program in order to
do an estimate of what it would take for the Guard Bureau to
continue the project that we have been doing now for the last
eighteen months or so.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Okay. In States like Florida so much of
the funding is actually appropriated at the State level. What
kind of Federal funding, and VA and/or DoD if you would respond
to this, what kind of Federal funding do you anticipate may be
needed to move this program to a national program so that all
States participate? And also, with PAYGO, where should the
funding for such a program come out of? I would just like your
suggestions. It is our job to find it, but where would you
suggest?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Ma'am, we share the exact same
concerns that you have in regards to that. Right at this
particular moment, I don't have any suggestions for you because
we are looking into it as well.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Have the costs for New Hampshire or
Minnesota, can you give us some idea of what those costs were?
I have heard that they were $1 million. Is that accurate?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Yes, ma'am. That would be accurate
as a matter of fact. Very, actually in excess in some cases
particularly with Minnesota's program.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Okay. Again, I would ask about the TAP
program. If the representative, if Colonel Ritter and Major
General Mathewson-Chapman, if they believe that the TAP program
should be mandatory for all branches of the service, not just
the Marines who have stepped up and made it mandatory? A yes or
no would do.
Colonel Ritter. Based on the last testimony, I believe yes.
Yes. I haven't really thought about if it should be a mandatory
program or not. And that's why I hesitated. I have really not
thought about that question.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Are any attempts being made to make it a
mandatory program?
Colonel Ritter. It's managed as a requirement, but not
mandatory, as they go through a processing.
Ms. Brown-Waite. It is, let me make sure I understand this.
It is a requirement?
Colonel Ritter. Right.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Like I am required to pay taxes? I am
required to pay taxes but it is also mandatory that I pay
taxes. So help me, help me split that very fine hair here.
Colonel Ritter. Okay, I will rephrase that. I agree that it
should be mandatory.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Well, I will rephrase. What are you doing
to make it mandatory?
Colonel Ritter. I'll take that back to the leadership,
ma'am.
[The following was subsequently received from DoD:]
The Army Reserve is committed to ensuring a successful
transition for returning Reserve Soldiers. Through Army Reserve
Employer Partnership Initiatives and Employer Support of the
Guard/Reserve programs, many Army Reserve Soldiers return to
their previous employers upon completion of their deployment.
Therefore, the TAP should remain a voluntary program for those
few Army Reserve Soldiers who are without civilian employment
or need transition assistance. With additional funding, the
Army Reserve would support a Web-based modified TAP activity
that could be incorporated as part of the Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program. This modified TAP would be a partnership
among the DoD, VA and DOL consisting of information focused on
job assistance and related services, with goals of increasing
employability, awareness of education, and volunteer
activities. Individual transition plans help Soldiers achieve
realistic career and personal goals.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Okay. Thank you.
Colonel Ritter. I don't know, I don't know if I have a
timeline on that.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Okay. Major General?
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. I would just like to
comment on the TAP. Being a 30-year Guardsman myself, the TAP
was really developed for active duty, as they were
transitioning out they might have 6 months or so to attend the
TAP briefing. What we're finding with the Guardsmen at the
demobilization site, again it was not mandatory but highly
recommended. Again, there could be potentially times that they
are offered, on a Monday morning after they had been flying all
night and they just arrived there, and now you have to listen
to different TAP briefings. It's also been criticized that,
again, Department of Labor talks about the wonderful job
opportunities at Fort Dix but I'm from Kansas. So when I do get
home, I find out things aren't so rosy as they said Fort Dix
was because the TAP is geared for that local area. So the TAP
briefings are conducted at an active-duty facility. And one of
those twelves that we are now doing the demobilization
briefings. So again, it's critical. Are they really, is the TAP
really for the Guard and Reserve, or more active duty? There's
now Turbo TAP that was developed by DoD to catch those others
on the Internet. So you can still, again, learn about your
benefits. I don't know how widely that's used. It's another
option. Again, it's up to you to do that TAP briefings on your
own, on your own time. But it is something. It is a time when
you have them there. They're only there 3 to 4 days. They've
got a lot of things on their plate for the Guard and Reserve.
That's just one more thing that you're going to require but
that's the best that we have right now, to get them to
understand the benefits, except of demobilization program that
we're doing now, when they are learning about VA benefits.
We're getting them enrolled. So we're starting the first piece,
to finally learn about VA and what their benefits are.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Question, so are you at the demobilization
sites?
Major General Mathewson-Chapman. Yes, we are at the twelve
Army demobilization sites now. We have now been granted access
on the mandatory briefings that all troops have to go through.
Part of that, usually the second day, they get there the 1st
day, the second day. They continue to have VBA briefings. Some
of that is a mini TAP. The Vet Center representatives are
there. They talk about Vet Centers. And then we from VHA are
there to provide a 10-minute briefing on healthcare benefits
and instruct it in how to complete the 10-10EZs. Collect them,
and then process those forms back and send them to the facility
they want to receive their care. That is ongoing now. It began
May 28th. And it's continuing now. The 12 sites, we're getting
to roll this out to the Marines, and then the Navy and the Air
Force Reserve by fall.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you very much. I appreciate the fact
that you answered. Thank you.
Mr. Mitchell. Congressman Walz.
Mr. Walz. Well, again, thank you all for being here. I am
very appreciative of that. But I think we need to cut straight
to the chase. There is a chair that is empty and that is the
Department of Defense and I have very little time and very
little patience for that. I will be very clear when we start
discussing PAYGO and how we are going to fund this. This is a
cost of war. We authorized $170 billion last week. President
Bush put zero in his budget for this program. Make no mistake
about it, when we are asked to take this out from somewhere
else--the Department of Defense has a responsibility for this,
not to wash their hands of these warriors when they leave the
system and say, ``We do not care what happens to them,
especially the National Guard.'' So the questions need to be
directed at the empty chair today and we will get to them and
we will ask them. Because the issue of how we are going to fund
this, since the time we have been here we have spent more than
that in Iraq. And I do not care what your feelings are toward
the War. This is an absolutely proven integration program.
General Blum's estimates on what it would cost and the
reintegration programs, they were mandated by Congress. If DoD
does not like it, we are getting the same thing.
Let me ask a couple questions here, and Sergeant Major I
have to tell you, I was out at Walter Reed a while back and I
got introduced as a former Sergeant Major who is now in
Congress and a young trooper said, ``I am sorry.'' And I said,
``Why is that?'' And he said, ``You got demoted.'' And so I
appreciate you being here. I also want to say how much I
appreciate the Guard Bureau being proactive on this. I have
watched this happen myself and I have seen the results of this.
I see the surveys coming back from the families. And I have a
couple of questions.
Is it true that National Guard Bureau actually offered
their best practices, lessons learned to DoD?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Yes sir, it is.
Mr. Walz. And what did they do with those?
Sergeant Major Salotti. As I mentioned in the beginning
question, sir, when we offered OSD the template for them to
use, the decision was made that they would come up with their
own program.
Mr. Walz. Okay, and they have a lot of experience in that
with National Guardsmen out in the community, I am assuming?
Sergeant Major Salotti. I do not know the answer to that,
sir.
Mr. Walz. Okay. And they provided what guidance then to
you, just so you could formulate this? Because as we speak, we
have tens of thousands coming back through the rotations?
Sergeant Major Salotti. We have not received any official
guidance from OSD, sir. We have taken our----
Mr. Walz. But they have 6 days to get it done.
Sergeant Major Salotti. Yes, sir.
Mr. Walz. Okay. Well, maybe we are jumping the gun,
Chairman. If you are a Guardsman right now, in your honest
assessment, and your knowledgeable assessment of this, if you
are a Guardsman, if you are one of these troopers, does it
matter what State you go to war in and come back in? Does it
matter how you are going to be reintegrated into society on the
way the system is set up right now?
Sergeant Major Salotti. No sir, it will not other than the
specific benefits that are provided by the State. Because the
Guards----
Mr. Walz. But does it as of today, if I were to mobilize
and come back through Minnesota as opposed to another State,
would my experience be different today?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Yes, sir.
Mr. Walz. Will one of those soldiers be better off and have
a better chance at reintegration?
Sergeant Major Salotti. No, sir. I think that would be
equal regardless of the State that you deploy from.
Mr. Walz. So it does not matter now? So these States that
are implementing this are not making any difference?
Sergeant Major Salotti. What the States are doing, sir, is
taking the guidance that we have provided to make----
Mr. Walz. Okay.
Sergeant Major Salotti [continuing]. A standard program----
Mr. Walz. I see what you are saying.
Sergeant Major Salotti [continuing]. That is geared toward
that State.
Mr. Walz. Well this gets back to the question that came up
once before and my colleague from San Diego was mentioning. In
your opinion, is there a need for unified best practice
research centrally? Because I heard our soldiers say with this
generation, especially IAVA, that the centralization of this,
the uniformity of this, the ability to get there would be
helpful to them. Is it your opinion that we should give out
grants and let individual organizations do this? Or should we
focus through the best practices of NGB and the Reserves and
bring it that way, so that seamless transition from DoD to VA
is there? I guess I am asking an opinion. It is subjective. You
have seen this enough, Sergeant Major, to know.
Sergeant Major Salotti. In my opinion, sir, the Minnesota
model is the way to go.
Mr. Walz. Okay. And my last question on this, because I
hear this often, and this goes to Colonel Ritter. I think you
have a much more challenging situation with your troops because
of the nature of the Reserve. And I think the general public is
somewhat ignorant of the fact of how this reintegrates. And
what I am starting to hear from the parents and the families of
reservists and then to the active duty is, you are doing a
fantastic job in Minnesota with the National Guard but you are
separating our Reservists away from that. Would that be your
experience? That it, there is more challenges because of the
Federal nature of your----
Colonel Ritter. Oh, absolutely, sir. It is quite a
challenge to manage this across the country. We do work closely
with our Guardsmen of all services to even, to do events
together.
Mr. Walz. Yes.
Colonel Ritter. And we do look to the States that our
Reserve units are in and the help from our constituents there
also. But anything to help reintegrate the soldiers back into
their communities, back with their families, we are open to the
plan and the national plan. And we look forward to it.
Mr. Walz. And my final question is, this may not be the
right group today, but something we are starting to look at.
Are you seeing a reflection in retention rates on how well you
do reintegration? Sergeant Major, do you have anything at least
in the beginning on this?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Absolutely, sir. This is definitely
a retention as well as readiness issue as far as the National
Guard.
Mr. Walz. And is it financially cheaper to keep a soldier
in than it is to recruit a new one and train them?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Absolutely, sir.
Mr. Walz. So in the long run, we would save money, probably
if we did this, correct? If we kept them in by reintegrating
them?
Sergeant Major Salotti. Most definitely, sir.
Mr. Walz. All right. I yield back, Chairman.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Congressman Bilbray.
Mr. Bilbray. Mr. Chairman, I went so over my time I will
yield back and I figure I am even. So thank you very much. I
appreciate it. I appreciate the panel and I have no questions.
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. And again, I would like to give
you my thanks and the panel's thanks for not only the service
you have given to our country, two of you are retired. But
also, now, what you are doing. Your service to the
organizations that are trying to help us overcome what I think,
what we all think, is a real problem. So thank you so much for
your testimony, and good luck to you all. And this concludes
the hearing.
[Whereupon, at 3:37 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Prepared Statement of Hon. Harry E. Mitchell,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
We are here today to address what the Department of Defense and the
VA are doing to help members of the National Guard and Reserves
reintegrate into civilian life after their return from deployment to
the combat theater. Members of Guard and Reserves units tend to
disperse much more widely upon their return than those in active duty
units and it is more difficult to ensure that they receive the services
and benefits that they need and have earned. The need for DoD and VA to
work together to assist returning Guard and Reserves members, and their
families as well, is especially acute in today's environment, where the
Guard and Reserves are serving at the same operational tempo as active
duty units. Fully half of OIF and OEF veterans are members of the Guard
or Reserves.
When Guard and Reserves members return home, they return to their
pre-existing civilian lives. Most are married and many have children.
Reconnecting with families and communities can be difficult. The skills
and emotional attitudes that are essential in a combat environment can
be disastrous if brought back to civilian life. Veterans in the Guard
and Reserves, just as those in active components, have educational and
other benefits that are their rightful due for having served their
country. Assisting these veterans and their families in reintegrating
into civilian life, and ensuring they receive the benefits they have
earned requires close cooperation between DoD, VA, and, in the case of
the National Guard, the States. Assisting veterans and their families
means that VA needs to be present at demobilization sites; that
returning Guard and Reserves units be engaged in, and be paid for,
reintegration activities at 30, 60, and 90 day intervals after
demobilization; that families be fully involved; that DoD, VA, and the
States fully cooperate and participate in the reintegration events; and
that DoD, VA, and the States engage in outreach to ensure that all
Guard and Reserves veterans and their families know about the services
and benefits available to them and get what they need and deserve.
Congress recognized these needs in the most recent National Defense
Authorization Act. The NDAA mandates the 30, 60, and 90 day
reintegration program and outreach. The NDAA also requires DoD to
create an Office of Reintegration Programs within the Office of the
Secretary of Defense and a Center of Excellence in Reintegration within
that office. The National Guard Bureau and Reserve Affairs are still
waiting for policy guidance from that office so they can proceed.
There are a number of States that have first class programs. VA and
the National Guard Bureau are active participants in these programs,
but only a minority of States have them. At the national level VA and
the National Guard Bureau, DoD Reserve Affairs, and the Office of the
Secretary of Defense do not appear to be talking at all. This must
change, and it must change now.
Let me give you a very recent example that illustrates how
important it is that DoD and VA take on this mission. Just last week,
the 325th Combat Support Hospital, an army reserve unit based in
Independence, Missouri, returned from a 10-month tour of duty in Iraq.
CSH [CASH] units experience the absolute worst that war has to offer on
a daily basis. Combat health care providers, as much if not more than
combat and other support units, require the best post-deployment
support that we can provide them. The 325th CSH, while deployed, is
composed of four Reserve subunits from across the country. In addition,
many members of the just-returned unit were cross-leveled--that is,
shortages of personnel in the 325th were filled by Reservists from
other CASH units from around the country. So in order to make sure that
all of the members of returning units are provided reintegration
services, DoD and VA must work closely together and be prepared to
deliver those services at multiple places nationwide. This is no easy
task but it absolutely must be done. Our Guard and Reserves service
members leave their civilian lives and their fami-
lies and put themselves in harm's way in order to protect our Nation.
We have a moral obligation to take care of them when they come back
home.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Ginny Brown-Waite, Ranking Republican
Member, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman,
I appreciate you holding this hearing on how well VA and the
Department of Defense are cooperating in the reintegration of National
Guard and Reserves. As we know, ``seamless transition'' of our
servicemembers has not always been a smooth road to plow, and it is
equally important for us to review how this transition is occurring for
our National Guard and Reservists, as well as for our active-duty
servicemembers.
In each State, the National Guard Bureau support is run
independently, and each State provides varied programs to support their
returning Guard and Reservists. In my own State of Florida, we have a
very robust State sponsored program for soldier support for our
National Guard units. In July of 2005, the Florida State legislature
appropriated funding to establish the Florida Armed Forces Reserves
Family Readiness Program Assistance Fund (FL AFR FRPAF) to assist the
families of servicemembers during their deployments on as-needed bases.
This program, available to Florida residents serving in all branches of
the military, provides much needed assistance to the families of our
servicemembers, who may experience unexpected financial hardships
during their loved one's mobilization, and ensures the families have
the resources needed to sustain themselves while the servicemember is
away.
I would like to commend my colleague, Congressman John Kline of
Minnesota for his efforts in developing the Yellow Ribbon Initiatives
to establish a DoD-wide Deployment Cycle Support program that provides
information, services, referral, and proactive outreach opportunities
for RC Service Members and Families throughout the entire deployment
cycle. His legislation, H.R. 2090, would direct the Secretary of
Defense to establish a national combat veteran reintegration program
(to be known as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program) to provide
National Guard members and their families with information, services,
referral, and outreach opportunities throughout the entire deployment
cycle. This bill language was included in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which became Public Law 110-181
on January 28, 2008.
On June 7, 2008, the State of Florida held its first Yellow Ribbon
event in Jacksonville, supporting the return of 90 Army National
Guardsmen and their families. The Florida National Guard is currently
working to implement the Minnesota Yellow Ribbon model as authorized in
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. It is
programs like these that make the transition between the Department of
Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs easier for our
servicemembers and their families.
I look forward to learning more from our witnesses today on how
they are implementing programs to serve our National Guard and Reserve
components. These servicemembers play a significant role in the defense
of our Nation and the freedoms we enjoy, and should be given all due
consideration when we evaluate the programs that serve them.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and I yield back my time.
Prepared Statement of Patrick Campbell, Legislative Director,
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Mr. Chair and members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee,
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on behalf of Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), thank you for this opportunity
to testify in front of this Subcommittee, especially regarding an issue
that affects me so personally.
I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Chair and
Ranking Member of this Committee who, by working together in a
bipartisan manner, passed the largest increase in education benefits
for veterans since the GI Bill was created 64 years ago. Our veterans
and our Nation will benefit tremendously from your hard work.
I am currently serving as a combat medic in the DC National Guard.
I enlisted in the Army one month before we invaded Iraq and later
volunteered to be deployed
to Iraq in 2004. For one year, I was attached to the 256 infantry
Brigade, part of the Louisiana National Guard. I was assigned to a line
unit and patrolled various parts of Baghdad.
Three years ago today, we had just wrapped up a massive raid in our
area of operations, in Northwest Baghdad. During that raid, my patrol
unit was assigned to pull security, called an outer cordon, to ensure
that no one attacked the other patrol group that was actually searching
for the raid's target. I remember that night vividly. It was a clear,
hot night and everyone was joking around that our unit finally got put
on security and wasn't leading the charge. It was dark and well past
curfew, the streets were desolate.
About 2 a.m. an Iraqi man appeared out of the darkness and started
walking toward us. The gunner assigned to guard that corner started
yelling in English and broken Arabic for the man to stop. He just kept
coming. He was close when the gunner fired a 5-round burst, with at
least 2 tracers, right in front of the man to get him to stop. He just
kept walking. At this point we all had our weapons trained on the man
and I remember switching the safety off on my weapon.
Then something peculiar happened . . . no one fired a shot. The man
walked right through our check point, disappeared into the darkness
without even acknowledging our presence. As soon as he walked by me I
recognized the man as a local homeless guy who we always saw standing
in the middle of an intersection down the street.
To be honest not firing that night was probably the most foolish
risk our unit took while we were in Iraq. I spent the rest of the night
listening to our patrol's senior leadership berate the lower enlisted
for not shooting a man who was out beyond curfew and not responding to
verbal or physical warnings to stop. My team leader and the oldest of
the enlisted laid it out very sternly, ``We were (expletive) very lucky
this time, if he was suicide bomber most of us would be dead right now.
Remember we are fighting a war and your enemy won't show you any mercy.
Next time take the shot, dammit!'' Although I hated to admit it, he was
right.
That stern sergeant spent most our tour in Iraq keeping our guys in
line and focused. I can say honestly that he saved my life more than a
couple times. This man was one my best friends over there and he was
mentor to me and to our entire patrol team. I looked up to him as any
soldier looks up to an outstanding Noncommissioned Officer (NCO).
Unfortunately, the next time I saw this sergeant was this past
Memorial Day weekend and he was laying in a casket. Just over two years
after being home, he took his life and was found floating in a boat on
a lake. He had sent a text message cry for help to someone at the
armory, but when they went looking for him it was too late.
As a unit we came together for the funeral and many of us spent the
weekend pondering how this well-respected NCO and our emotional bedrock
while we were in Iraq could find himself so isolated from the rest of
the world. The consensus in our unit was that the emotional callousness
that a soldier must don with their body armor each morning was a lot
harder for this sergeant to take off when he returned. I have heard it
called psychological Kevlar. The numbness that worked so well in
Baghdad became a severe hindrance at home.
This hearing is about cooperation between the Departments of
Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) in reintegrating our Reserve
and National Guard forces. These departments have taken great strides
over the past 7 years to help our returning citizen soldiers. But we
are far from the finish line. As a National Guard soldier, this
sergeant was both the responsibility of DoD and VA and he fell through
the cracks.
We must do better. Luckily, model programs are already in place.
When the Minnesota National Guard returned home from a 22-month
deployment in Iraq, the single longest deployment of any unit in this
conflict, the leadership of that unit realized they an innovative
reintegration plan. Their ``Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program'' focused
on the returning soldier and their families, and brought the full
resources of this government together in one coordinated effort. This
program included:
mandatory mental health counseling and training for the
servicemembers and their families;
information about VA/DoD health care, jobs, and education
benefits; and
an opportunity for the unit to come together again in a
non stressful environment during those critical first three months.
This program was so successful that the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
program was included in last year's National Defense Authorization Act
(Public Law 110-181). However the Department of Defense has failed to
implement the program, because it was authorized but not funded. IAVA
believes that Congress must work with DoD to accelerate implementation
of this effective program.
Only holistic approaches like the BtYR that focus on the
servicemember and their family will ensure veterans are prepared to
reintegrate into civilian life. But I'd also like to speak briefly
about the key components of any reintegration program.
Mandatory Confidential Screenings Are Needed
When my unit returned home October 2005, the Post Deployment Health
Reassessment (PDHRA) did not exist. It was over a year and a half
before I started receiving phone calls from the Army asking me to fill
out a PDHRA. When I tried to fill out the form online I was told I had
missed my window of opportunity. When they eventually got in touch with
me over the phone, I remember having to answer very sensitive questions
as I was walking through the aisles of a Barnes & Noble Bookstore,
desperately trying to find a section devoid of people. The person
interviewing me was not a mental health professional but rather a
physician assistant with a couple days of on-the-job training.
IAVA believes that every returning servicemember should be required
to receive confidential face-to-face counseling with a licensed mental
health professional within 6 months of returning home. My friend the
stoic sergeant asked for help when it was already too late. We can not
afford to keep waiting for veterans to self identify that they need
help. Requiring mandatory counseling sessions is not a new concept.
Many law enforcement and fire departments require such sessions after
any type of traumatic event. We should be providing nothing less for
our men and women serving in harm's way.
I have heard the Department of Defense has started implementing
immediate after action reviews with counselors for servicemembers who
experience traumatic events in theatre. While I cannot comment on the
efficacy of this program, I can say from personal experience that
counseling will be most effective when it comes time to take off the
psychological Kevlar, and that is during the months after returning
home.
VA Needs to Expand Outreach Programs
IAVA has advocated for years that the VA needs to stop being a
passive system that waits for veterans to come in with their problems.
Any successful outreach program would involve a multi-pronged approach
that develops a relationship with the veteran before they need help,
much like a successful college alumni association that starts
developing ties with students before they even graduate.
We are very encouraged to hear that the VA has listened to our
recommendations and implemented a plan to contact every veteran of Iraq
and Afghanistan who is no longer on active duty and has not approached
the VA for health care needs. This almost informal check-in has already
yielded encouraging results and we look forward to hearing from the VA
about what they learned from these calls to almost half a million
veterans.
This call program must be a first step in building a relationship
with our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and not the entire outreach
program. There have been a number of efforts to free up the VA from
bureaucratic rules that supposedly prevented them from launching a mass
media campaign to start bringing in new veterans into VA care programs.
Section 1710 of the National Defense Authorization Act clarified this
issue and IAVA implores the VA to launch a mass media campaign that
educates and honors the service of our fighting men and women.
DoD and VA Need to Declare War on Mental Health Stigma
The Department of Defense and VA have stated publicly that battling
mental health stigma is one of their top priorities. IAVA was pleased
to see DoD start a series of stigma reduction programs within the
military, and very publicly change the questions to their security
clearance forms to ensure that servicemembers were not penalized for
seeking counseling.
However these forays have amounted to minor skirmishes in a larger
campaign to battle stigma. IAVA believes that new Center of Excellence
for PTSD should greatly expand DoD and VA's stigma reduction campaign.
We at IAVA are also doing our part. To de-stigmatize the psychological
injuries of war, IAVA has recently partnered with the Ad Council to
conduct a three-year Public Service Announcement campaign to try and
combat this stigma, and ensure that troops who need mental health care
get it.
Conclusion
Guard and Reservists straddle the uncomfortable line between the VA
and DoD.
Only through joint coordinated efforts between these two departments
will we ensure that veterans like my friend no longer fall between the
cracks.
Respectfully Submitted.
Prepared Statement of Joseph C. Sharpe, Jr., Deputy Director,
National Economic Commission, American Legion
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
With the ending of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DoD)
dramatically downsized its personnel strength. In 1990 Congress, in an
attempt to assist separating service members in making a successful
transition back into the civilian workforce, enacted Public Law (P.L.)
101-510 which authorized the creation of the Transition Assistance
Program (TAP). This law was intended to assist service members,
especially those who possessed certain critical military specialties
that could not be easily transferred to a civilian work environment,
with educational and career choices.
DoD's TAP and Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP) are
designed, in conjunction with Department of Labor (DOL) and the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to help prepare not only
separating service members, but also their families for a seamless
transition to civilian life. Last year, more than 386,200 service
members were discharged from active duty status and over 500,534
service members demobilized from active duty service. As mentioned,
P.L. 101-510 (Chapter 58, Section 1142) mandates pre-separation
counseling for transitioning service members. These programs consist of
specific components: pre-separation counseling; employment assistance;
relocation assistance; education, training, health and life insurance
counseling; finance counseling; Reserve affiliation; and disabled
transition assistance seminars. DTAP is designed to educate and
facilitate disabled veterans to overcome potential barriers to
meaningful employment. Currently, VA, DOL, and DoD operate 215
transition offices around the world.
While the TAP program assists transitioning service members leaving
the military under their own accord, the DTAP program focuses on the
specialized needs of the service members who are separating for medical
reasons. The DTAP workshop is a half-day seminar sponsored jointly by
DOL, DoD and VA. The workshop provides specialized information on VA's
many disability benefits including:
Medical Care
CHAMPVA
Disability Compensation
Vocational Rehabilitation
Disabled Veterans Insurance
In this current era of a significantly smaller all-volunteer
military, the reliance on the National Guard and Reserve to fight the
present Global War on Terror is unprecedented. The Reserve forces have
become an essential part of all current DoD operations. Reservists in
Iraq and Afghanistan reflect a significant portion of the total
deployed force in any given month, and DoD reports that continued
reliance on the 1.8 million Reserve and National Guard troops will
continue well into the foreseeable future. Attracting and retaining
well qualified individuals to execute the fundamental functions of a
strong and viable national defense is paramount. Without providing
proper incentives for service members to enlist and reenlist, the
military will continue to be hard pressed to effectively accomplish
their Global War on Terror mission.
Medical Care / Disability Compensation:
In the last several years, VA has improved its outreach efforts,
especially its efforts to reach and inform active duty service members
preparing to leave the military. The American Legion remains concerned,
however, that a majority of transitioning service members, of the
Reserves and National Guard, especially those returning from Operations
Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) are not being adequately
advised of the benefits and services available to them from VA and
other Federal and State agencies.
Currently, Reserve and Guard members learn of their veterans'
benefits by a variety of avenues, such as demobilizations and State
reintegration briefings, post deployment health reassessments, and
individual unit sponsored briefings. Unfortunately, VA efforts
regarding TAP are hampered by the fact that only one of the services,
the Marine Corps, requires its separating members to attend these
briefings. This flag in the system did not escape the Veterans'
Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC) and resulted in the
recommendation that Congress mandate TAP briefings and attendance
throughout DoD. The American Legion strongly agrees with that
recommendation. In order for all separating service members to be
properly advised of all VA benefits to which they may entitled, it is
crucial that Congress adequately fund and mandate both TAP availability
and attendance in all of the military services.
VA also affords separating service members the opportunity to start
the disability claims process, at least 6 months prior to separation
from active duty, through its Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD)
program. Unfortunately, this program is not available to all separating
service members with service-related medical conditions as the program
is only available at 140 installations, which totally bypasses
separating members of the Reserves and National Guard.
Reservists Return to Find No Jobs
National Guard and Reserve troops are returning from the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan only to encounter difficulties with their Federal
and civilian employers at home. Many of these returning service members
have lost jobs, promotions, benefits and, in a few cases, they have
even encountered job demotions.
According to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act, employers must protect the old jobs of deployed service
members, or provide them with equivalent positions. Benefits, raises,
and promotions must be protected, as if the service member had never
left. In many cases this law has not been able to protect many
returning service members across the country from the negative effects
of long deployments. Service members would greatly benefit by having
access to the resources and knowledge that TAP can provide, but the
program should have stronger employment, mental health, and small
business components.
The Effects of Reserve Call-ups on Civilian Employers and Veteran Owned
Businesses
The impact of deployment on self-employed Reservists is tragic with
a reported 40 percent of all veteran owned businesses suffering
financial losses and, in some cases, bankruptcies. Many veteran owned
small businesses are unable to operate and suffer some form of
financial loss when key employees are activated. The Congressional
Budget Office in a report titled The Effects of Reserve Call-Ups on
Civilian Employers stated that it ``. . . expects that as many as
30,000 small businesses and 55,000 self-employed individuals may be
more severely affected if their Reservist employee or owner is
activated.''
Currently, the Small Business Administration (SBA) offers Military
Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This program offers loans to
businesses that meet certain eligibility criteria to help offset the
economic consequences of the loss of their Reservist personnel. To
qualify, a company must be able to show that the activated Reservist is
critical to the success of the company. The American Legion recommends
that the SBA should be part of any Reservist and National Guard TAP
briefing, and act in an advisory capacity to those veterans who are
small business owners, to assist them with resources and information to
help lessen the impact of activation on their bottom line.
Education and the GI Bill
Historically, The American Legion has encouraged the development of
essential benefits to help attract and retain service members into the
Armed Services, as well as to assist them in making the best possible
transition back to the civilian community. On June 22, 1944, then-
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment
Act 1944, which later became known as the GI Bill of Rights. This
historic piece of legislation, authored by the leadership of The
American Legion, enabled veterans to purchase their first homes, attend
college, and start private businesses. The emergence of the American
middle class, the suburbs, civil rights, and finally a worldwide
economic boom can be attributed to this important legislation.
The majority of individuals who join the National Guard or Reserves
enter the Armed Forces straight out of high school, and many are full
and part time students. With the number of activations since September
11, these same Reservists are discovering that their graduation will
take longer than once anticipated. Currently, the Montgomery GI Bill
pays the average Reservist $317 a month compared to his active duty
counterpart who is paid $1,101 a month.
With the rising cost of tuition, many Reservists must resort to
commercial loans and other loans or grants to supplement the Montgomery
GI Bill. When a service member is forced to withdraw from school due to
military obligation, the commercial loan must still be paid regardless
of whether the student finishes the course, adding to the accumulated
debt of that service member.
The American Legion recommends that TAP briefings include an
education representative to provide National Guard and Reservist
members this kind of information so they can avoid undue financial
hardship.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
On December 19, 2003, the President signed into law a complete
update of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act (SCRA) 1940. This
helps ease the economic and legal burdens on military personnel called
to active-duty status in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring
Freedom.
Relief under SCRA extends to actions terminating leases, evictions,
foreclosures and repossessions, default judgments, lower interest rates
on credit cards and loans and protects against lapses or termination of
insurance policies.
With the military's increased reliance on National Guard and
Reserve units, creditors residing in remote areas of the country
outside of the traditional military towns are not aware of this Act,
including members of the Reserve component. Therefore, service members
are experiencing serious financial difficulties while on active duty--
their cars are repossessed, homes foreclosed and credit histories
ruined because this piece of legislation is unknown.
The American Legion has produced a brochure on active-duty legal
rights, copies of which will be distributed across the country to
service members, their families, and local community businesses which
will improve their knowledge of the program; thereby alleviating some
of the frustration, misinformation, and misunderstandings that could be
avoided if TAP was a mandatory program. To their credit, Navy TAP
representatives discuss personal financial planning during workshops
and seminars. However, the Reserve components need to have this issue
also addressed pre- and post-deployment.
Make TAP/DTAP a Mandatory Program
DOL estimates that 60 percent to 65 percent of all separating
active-duty service members attend the employment TAP seminars and 30
percent of all separating National Guard and Reservists attend a
portion of TAP. The American Legion believes this low attendance number
is a disservice to all transitioning service members. Many service
members and most National Guard and Reservists are unaware of the
assistance and resources offered by TAP. Without this program, service
members who have served their country bravely return to the civilian
workforce less equipped than their counterparts who took advantage of
the information provided by TAP. According to written testimony from
John M. McWilliam, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Veterans' Employment
and Training, Department of Labor, May 12, 2005, ``We have been working
with the National Guard and Reserve on providing TAP services to these
returning service members in many States on an informal and as-needed
basis. In this regard, three Reserve Component TAP demonstration
programs are underway in Oregon, Michigan and Minnesota.''
DoD and DOL report that in Oregon 40 percent of those part time
service members who attended the TAP session were looking for
employment.
Access to TAP
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Enhanced
Services Could Improve Transition Assistance for Reserves and National
Guard, May 2005, reports TAP is not made available to the National
Guard and Reserves. ``TAP managers with DoD and the military services
explained that the chief problem is lack of time during demobilization,
which is often completed in 5 days.'' The American Legion recommends
that TAP be instituted in the following ways:
Incorporate TAP into the unit's training schedule months
before activation;
Have a TAP briefing during a unit's organization day that
includes spouses;
Activate a unit for a weekend either before or after a
deployment;
Most units spend three to eight weeks at an installation
site preparing to move into theater--TAP briefings should be available;
and
Spend an extra day or two at a demobilization site to
include TAP.
The GAO report also states that many service members are not
interested in the employment segment because they believe they have
jobs waiting for them once they return home. That might have been true
with the first rotations into theater; however, that is not the case
now for many veterans, especially with back to back deployments. A
number of complaints have surfaced from service members around the
country that some businesses are reluctant to hire veterans still in
the military and businesses have allegedly started putting pressure on
veterans who have deployed once not to deploy a second time. As stated
earlier, The American Legion recommends that TAP become a mandatory
program for both pre- and post-deployment.
Transitional Assistance Program for National Guard and Reserves:
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland
The TAP program located at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, has
been called a unique program and still highly regarded as a model for
all the Army. It is currently the only program that offers transition
assistance to Guard and Reserves with an 8-hour presentation of
services and benefits. Briefings are given covering Finance, Education,
USERRA, VA compensation and disability claims, Employment Assistance,
Mental Health Counseling Services, and TRICARE. The program also has a
number of unique partnerships with many Federal, State and local
agencies. Some of those partnerships include: the Maryland Division of
Workforce Development, Perry Point VA Hospital, Department of Labor,
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Ft. Monmouth, N.J., Transition
Office. The program has a pro-active philosophy. Some examples include:
Service members needing employment are given immediate
assistance. In some cases this has led to immediate hires, and those
service members returned home with a job while avoiding unemployment.
If the veteran lives outside the State a point of contact is given for
that individual to ensure there is a veteran representative waiting
with job service resources.
The Perry Point VA Hospital offers immediate shelter to
service members who may be homeless, which lessens the numbers of
homeless veterans on the nation's streets. VA reports that more than
175,000 veterans are currently homeless and another 250,000 are
homeless over a period of time. VA has also reported that the number of
homeless veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan is
increasing, especially among women with children. The American Legion
believes the first line of defense in preventing additional homeless
cases is to have a strong and pro-active transitional assistance
program.
Service members who need assistance with filling out
compensation and disability claims are offered immediate assistance by
visiting VA representatives. The program has received positive feedback
by service members and commanders.
Legion Outreach Programs
Heroes to Hometowns
In an effort to increase transparency and cooperation between the
DoD and the American people, The American Legion entered into an
understanding with the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD)
Office of Military Community and Family Policy (MCFP) under the
authority of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military
Community and Family Policy, Leslye A. Arsht to assist in outreach and
assistance efforts to transitioning severely injured service members.
The American Legion agreed to provide outreach support to the military
community's severely injured as they transitioned home through a
program known as Heroes to Hometowns. This program embodies The
American Legion's long standing history of caring for those ``who borne
the battle'' and their families.
Heroes to Hometowns is designed to welcome home service members who
can no longer serve in the military. The American public's strong
support for its troops is especially evident in their willingness to
help service members who are severely injured in the war, and their
ever-supportive families, as they transition from the hospital
environment and return to civilian life.
Heroes to Hometowns is a program that focuses on reintegration back
into the community, with networks established at the national and State
levels to better identify the extraordinary needs of returning families
before they return home and to with the local community to coordinate
government and non-government resources as necessary for as long as
needed.
There are three charter members in each State's Heroes to Hometowns
Executive Committee, each uniquely able to contribute to overall
support with the ability to tap into their national, State, and local
support systems to provide essential links to government, corporate,
and non-profit resources at all levels and to garner the all important
hometown support.
State Heroes to Hometowns Committees are the link between the
Military Treatment Facilities and the community. The charter members
consist of the State Office of Veterans Affairs, the State Transition
Assistance Office and the State's veteran community represented by The
American Legion. Heroes to Hometowns is a collaborative effort and The
American Legion leads communities in preparing for returning service
members in areas such as:
Financial Assistance;
Finding suitable homes and adapting as needed;
Home and Vehicle repairs;
Transportation for veterans to medical appointments;
Employment and educational assistance;
Child care support;
Arrange Welcome home celebrations; and
Sports and recreation opportunities.
When transitioning veterans request assistance via a Web-form or
brochure available through The American Legion, the veterans' contact
information is shared the State Executive Committee. The veteran must
agree to share this non-sensitive information such as their name,
address and telephone number of the caller and the type of assistance
requested. This information is shared with the three charter members to
coordinate support.
The American Legion State offices refer the veteran's request to
the local post, which voluntarily connects with the veteran to provide
community resources. The Heroes to Hometowns Program focuses on those
needs not provided by Federal and State agencies.
To assist in the coordination of community resources, The American
Legion supports OSD's Military Homefront's Online Support Network for
military personnel and community organizations to connect and
collaborate. This online network is dedicated to citizens and
organizations that support America's service men and women. Through the
support network, veterans can easily identify and quickly connect with
national, State and community support programs. In 2007, the Heroes to
Hometowns program expanded its vision to include all transitioning
service members, to include the underserved National Guard and Reserve
components. Currently, the National Guard and Reserve do not have
mandated Transition Assistance Programs (TAP) when demobilizing. This
hard-to-reach population primarily lives in rural America, disconnected
from the traditional services provided by DoD or the VA. The American
Legion, with its 2.7 million members and 14,000 posts, reaches into
these rural communities conveying a consistent message of strong
support for America's military personnel; the veterans who return home;
care for the veteran's family; and a patriotic pride in America. With
the Heroes to Hometowns program, The American Legion reaches out to
provide support long after the deployment is over.
Assessing Services Rendered
The American Legion recommends that Congress require Federal
agencies that deliver TAP/DTAP services to develop a management-
monitoring program to better assess how well services are being
delivered to transitioning service members. Currently, the
effectiveness of services provided by TAP agencies is unknown because
adequate performance goals and benchmarking measures have never been
instituted. Consequently, there is a lack of any verifiable outcome
data. Performance measures should be instituted to hold all Federal
agencies involved in TAP/DTAP accountable for services rendered.
Summary
America asks its young people to serve in the armed forces to guard
and defend this great nation and its way of life. Their selfless
service provides millions of Americans with the opportunity to pursue
their vocational endeavors. The successful transition of that service
member back into the civilian workforce must be a shared
responsibility, especially if that service member has suffered service-
connected disabilities. There is much talk about ``seamless
transition'' between DoD and VA, but it goes beyond that. It should be
a ``seamless transition'' between all Federal agencies involved in a
transition assistance program. That means:
Ensuring service members know their active-duty legal
rights and that those Federal agencies involved should monitor and
assist in the compliance with those rights;
Prompt adjudication of disability claims;
Prompt adjudication of educational claims;
Timely access to TRICARE and VA quality health care
Housing of the homeless;
Employment assistance;
Small business assistance; and
Any other Federal assistance, as needed.
The American Legion reaffirms its strong support of TAP/DTAP, but
also encourages DoD to require that all separating, active-duty service
members, including those from the Reserves and the National Guard, be
given an opportunity to participate in TAP/DTAP training not more than
180 days prior to their separation or retirement from the armed forces,
and follow-up counseling not later than 180 days after separation from
active duty. The American Legion supports efforts to mandate that all
service members be given the opportunity to participate in TAP/DTAP.
Prepared Statement of
Major General Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, USA (Ret.), Ph.D., ARNP,
National Guard and Reserve Coordinator, Office of
Outreach to Guard and Reserve Families, Veterans Health
Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. Thank
you for inviting me to speak about the cooperation between the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD),
the National Guard, and the Reserves. I am pleased to report VA and DoD
are coordinating their efforts more closely than ever to ensure former
members of the National Guard and the Reserves are reintegrating into
society and are being offered all of the benefits and services to which
they are eligible. I am accompanied today by Dr. Edward Huycke, Chief
VA/DoD Coordination Officer, VHA, Mr. Charles Flora, Executive
Assistant for the Readjustment Counseling Service, VHA, Karen
Malebranche, Executive Director of OEF/OIF, VHA, and Mr. Bradley Mayes,
Director of the Compensation and Pension Service in the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA).
From the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 through the first quarter
of FY 2008, 837,458 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) have separated from active duty and
become eligible for VA health care. Of those, slightly more than half,
422,870 were members of the Reserve or the National Guard. Thirty-nine
percent of all separated OEF/OIF veterans have obtained VA health care,
while 38 percent of returning veterans from the Reserve or National
Guard have chosen to receive care from VA.
VA has a longstanding commitment to serving this important
component of our Armed Forces. We are dedicated to providing the
highest quality care and services to all who have worn the uniform in
any branch of service. We also recognize the importance of timely
contact, and that not all separating service members, or members of the
National Guard and Reserve, will be interested in immediately enrolling
in VA for health care or benefits. Many of them are focused on
returning to their family and friends, their community, and their
careers, and justifiably so. As a result, VA has developed a multi-
faceted strategy to provide both episodic and continuous outreach.
Specifically, VA is focusing on three phases of intervention:
first, at 12 Army Reserve Component demobilization sites across the
country; second, at post-deployment health reassessments (PDHRAs)
conducted at their military base; and finally, on a continuing basis
after separation from military service. VA also works closely with
families, communities, counties and State governments to coordinate
efforts and ensure we cast as broad a net as possible to inform our
Nation's veterans of the benefits and health care services they have
earned.
DEMOBILIZATION
DoD provides VA with dates, numbers of participants and locations
for Reserve Component units in demobilization and reintegration
programs. The two Departments are standing up a comprehensive program
for VA participation in mandatory demobilization out-processing
procedures at Army sites. This pilot program began May 28, 2008, and
through the first half of June has already established contact with
more than 1,000 separating members of the National Guard and Army
Reserves at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and Camp Shelby, Mississippi. VA
has enrolled approximately 80 percent of these veterans.
At these events, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff
representatives from the local VA medical center are given 15 to 30
minutes during mandatory demobilization briefings for a presentation.
During this time, veterans receive information about recent changes in
enrollment and eligibility, including the expansion of the period of
enrollment from two to five years for OEF/OIF veterans following their
separation from active duty. They are also educated about the period of
eligibility for dental benefits, which was recently extended by the
2008 National Defense Authorization Act from 90 days to 180 days
following separation from service.
Veterans are also shown and provided with an Application for
Medical Benefits (the 1010EZ, which enrolls them for VA health care).
Moreover, they are shown how to complete the form. VHA staff also
discuss how to make an appointment for an initial examination for
service-related conditions and answer questions about the process.
These completed forms are collected at the end of each session. VA
staff at the supporting facility match the 1010EZ with a copy of the
veteran's DD214, their discharge papers and separation documents, scan
them, and e-mail or mail them to the VA medical center where the
veteran chooses to receive care. The receiving facility staff will
process the paperwork and notify the veteran. Guard and Reserve
veterans receive a special form and a toll-free number they can dial if
they need to seek medical care before they have received their official
enrollment letter in the mail.
Our representatives also make a straightforward presentation
regarding the advantages of enrolling in care immediately: this is free
health care for service-connected conditions, and they retain their
choice of providers as their TRICARE benefits will continue for six
months after separation. Enrollment serves as a measure of insurance in
case at some point in the future, a veteran begins displaying symptoms
of a service-connected condition. Essentially, our message reinforces a
positive message about enrollment for VA health care, both now and in
the future.
The Vet Center program is the VHA arm for community outreach to
returning combat veterans. The outreach to provide veterans and family
members with educational information about services is one of the
legislatively mandated missions of the Vet Center program. In response
to the growing numbers of veterans returning from combat in OEF/OIF,
the Vet Centers initiated an aggressive outreach campaign to welcome
home and educate returning service members at military demobilization
and National Guard and Reserve sites. Through its community outreach
and brokering efforts, the Vet Center program also provides many
veterans the means of access to other VHA and Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) programs. To augment this effort, the Vet Center
program recruited and hired 100 OEF/OIF veterans to provide the bulk of
this outreach to their fellow veterans. To improve the quality of its
outreach services, in June 2005, the Vet Centers began documenting
every OEF/OIF veteran provided with outreach services. The program's
focus on aggressive outreach activities has resulted in the provision
of timely Vet Center services to significant numbers of OEF/OIF
veterans and family members. Since the beginnings of hostilities in
Afghanistan and Iraq, the Vet Centers have seen over 288,594 OEF/OIF
veterans, of whom over 216,172 were outreach contacts seen primarily at
military demobilization and National Guard and Reserve sites and 72,422
were provided readjustment counseling in the Vet Center. The Vet Center
Program has also provided outreach services to the United States Marine
Corps IRR reservists across the Nation.
The approach builds on a prior outreach effort conducted during the
first Gulf War, which received the commendation of the President's
Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. In its final report
of March 1997, the Committee cited the Vet Centers for providing
exemplary outreach to contact and inform this veteran cohort about VA
services. On October of 2004, the U.S. Medicine Institute of Health
Studies and Association of Military Surgeons of the United States
reported that ``VHA's Vet Centers have proven a ``best practice'' model
in fostering peer-to-peer relationships for those with combat stress
disorders.''
POST-DEPLOYMENT HEALTH REASSESSMENTS (PDHRA's)
Following demobilization, DoD regularly holds post-deployment
health reassessments (PDHRA's) for returning combat Guard and
Reservists between three and six months after separation from active
duty. The PDHRA is a health protection process designed to enhance the
deployment-related continuum of care. PDHRA's provide education,
screening, and a global health assessment to help facilitate care for
deployment-related physical and mental health concerns. Completion of
the PDHRA is mandatory for all members of the National Guard or Reserve
who complete the post-deployment health assessment.
DoD provides VA a list of locations and times where these will take
place--often at the Reserve unit's base prior to deployment. VA
outreach staff from local medical centers and Vet Centers participate
at these events. DoD clinicians screen veterans and VA staff are
available to prepare referrals for any veteran interested in seeking
care from a VA facility. Vet Center staff are also present to assist
veterans with enrollment in VA for health care or counseling at a local
Vet Center.
PDHRA's are typically held in person with mandatory attendance for
units of 30 or more service members, while smaller units conduct their
PDHRA's by phone on a person-by-person basis. Almost 73 percent of all
Reserve Component PDHRA referrals were to VA--either a Vet Center or a
VA medical facility. VA's PDHRA mission is threefold: enroll eligible
service members, including members of the Guard or the Reserves, into
VA health care; provide information on VA benefits and services, and;
provide assistance in scheduling follow-up appointments. VA medical
center and Vet Center representatives provide post-event support for
all onsite and Call Center PDHRA events.
VA medical centers and Vet Centers accept direct PDHRA referrals
from DoD's 24/7 Contract Call Center. Between November 2005 and May
2008, VA staff supported over 1,050 onsite and 380 Call Center PDHRA
events. During that same period, DoD conducted 193,559 Reserve
Component PDHRA screenings, resulting in more than 41,100 referrals to
VA medical centers and 19,200 to Vet Centers.
Another essential piece of VA's outreach during PDHRA's and other
events at or just after separation from active duty are the 100 Global
War on Terror (GWOT) counselors employed by VA's Readjustment
Counseling Service. Vet Center GWOT Veteran Outreach Specialists
conduct a focused campaign to inform their fellow GWOT veterans about
VA benefits and services. These GWOT Counselors attend demobilization,
PDHRA and other activities, including ``welcome home'' events. These
Counselors are performing a vital service, and their personal
connection and dedication to the task at hand has helped countless
veterans and their families throughout the reintegration process.
POST-SEPARATION
While VA's participation at demobilization sites and in PDHRA
events represents critical elements of our outreach strategy, we are
well aware that not all veterans will enroll during this time. As a
result, through a number of outreach initiatives, VA continues its
efforts once veterans, especially members of the National Guard and
Reserves, have returned to their community. These measures range from
nationwide to neighborhoods and leverage VA's relationships with State
and local partners, including a wide variety of organizations.
In May 2005, VA and the National Guard entered into a partnership
and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance access to VA health
care for members of the National Guard. In 2006, the National Guard
hired 54 Transition Assistance Advocates (TAA's), one for each State
and territory with a National Guard presence (Puerto Rico, Guam, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia). The National Guard
continues to fund this robust program. They are presently expanding it
with a goal of 2 TAA's for each State with a large number of deployed
troops. In early 2006, the National Guard hired and funded the first 54
TAA's, while VA provided specialized training for them at the VBA
Academy in Baltimore about VA benefits and health care services. In
2008, an additional six TAA's were hired to provide further support in
States with large pools of National Guard members: Texas, Pennsylvania,
Georgia, Florida, California, and Minnesota. VA continues working
closely with TAA's while they are in the field and serving OEF/OIF
veterans, through regularly scheduled conference calls, newsletters,
and annual training conferences that identify and disseminate best
practices in each State. TAA's serve two critical missions: first, they
perform local problem-solving for any specific issues facing veterans;
second, TAA's bring together key leaders and organizations, such as
State Directors of Veterans Affairs, Adjutants General, and VA
leadership at the Network and facility level. The VHA OEF/OIF Office of
Outreach also has strong ties with the Adjutants General of the
National Guard, TAA's, and with State Directors of VA, all of whom can
and do keep VA informed of any challenges in accessing VA health care
or other issues.
TAA's have been the critical link in facilitating access to VA by
National Guard and Reserve members by providing VA with critical
information on numbers of returning troops, locations, and homecoming
and reintegration events. TAA's also facilitate enrollment into VHA
care for returning troops. Many Adjutants General have mandated
National Guard members to enroll in VA health care in their State
during the post-deployment period.
Moreover, VA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 47
States that define the roles and responsibilities of VA and the State
Departments of Veterans Affairs. A few States prefer to operate under
the agreement reached between the National Guard and VA in 2005. These
State partnerships are the foundation for the development of State
coalitions with participation by VA, State Adjutants General, State
Directors of VA, and community and State organizations to address the
coming home needs of the Guard and the Reserve members.
VA works with State governments to further our mutual goal of
enhanced benefits and care for veterans in multiple ways. Some examples
include:
In Connecticut, the State has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with VA allowing severely injured veterans to volunteer
to have their medical information shared with the State, and VA has an
active campaign to encourage wounded veterans in the State to contact
VA for enrollment and benefits.
In Delaware, the State signed a Memorandum of
Understanding in September 2007 with the Delaware National Guard, the
Delaware Department of Labor, VA, and other support agencies to
establish clarity of communication and synchronization of efforts
between each agency to provide veterans with transition assistance and
guidance.
In Florida, a pilot program was established to allow for
ease of transfer of information from VA to the State government for
wounded service members who volunteer to have their information shared.
In Ohio, the National Guard and the regional VA office
are negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding to provide comprehensive
informational sessions for members of the Guard and their families
during different stages of deployment.
In South Carolina, the State has partnered with VA to
offer job and health fairs for returning service members.
In South Dakota, the State has established a seven step
Reunion and Reintegration plan, a portion of which includes providing
information on Vet Centers and PDHRAs.
In Minnesota, during the ``Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program'', VA participated in briefings to returning
troops and families, enrolled members of the National Guard in VA
health care, and supported family members in the Family Academy
classes, which provided information about VA benefits and health care
services for which the spouse or family of a veteran may be eligible.
For wounded warriors returning home, 43 States currently
participate in the State Benefits Seamless Transition Program. To date,
350 severely injured veterans have signed the consent form authorizing
VA to notify their local State Department of Veterans Affairs of their
contact information when they return to their home State. The
initiative involves VA health care liaison staff located at the
following Department of Defense medical facilities:
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX
Darnall Army Medical Center, Ft. Hood, TX
Madigan Army Medical Center, Puget Sound, WA
Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Augusta, GA
Evans Army Community Hospital, Ft. Carson, CO
Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA
Womack Army Medical Center, Ft. Bragg, NC
Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, CA
Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune, NC
Under the program, wounded veterans returning to their home States
can elect to be contacted by their local State Department of Veterans
Affairs about State benefits available to them and their families. VHA
Liaisons for Health Care identify injured military members who will be
transferred to VA facilities, inform them about the program, and obtain
a signed consent form from veterans electing to participate. These
forms are faxed directly to an identified point of contact in the
State's Department of Veterans Affairs. The State offices, in turn,
contact the veterans to inform them of available State benefits.
In order to participate in the program, State Departments of
Veterans Affairs must provide a point of contact and dedicate a fax
machine in a private, locked office to receive the release of
information forms. VA asked States to participate in the program in
February 2007 when it was expanded beyond the Florida pilot program.
VA also conducts direct outreach by telephone through several
initiatives, including the Secretary's recently announced call center
campaign to contact every OEF/OIF veteran and service member, including
members of the National Guard and Reserve, who have separated from
service but who have not yet enrolled in VA health care. On May 2,
2008, VA began contacting over 500,000 combat OEF/OIF veterans to
ensure they know about VA medical services and other benefits. The
Department will reach out and touch all veterans of the war to let them
know VA is here for them. The first of those calls went to an estimated
17,000 veterans who were sick or injured while serving in Iraq or
Afghanistan. If any of these 17,000 veterans do not already have a care
manager to work with them, VA will offer to appoint one for them. The
second phase of call initiative is to those discharged from the
military but not yet receiving VA health care. Local VA facilities and
network representatives are provided referrals in their area to provide
follow-up contact should the veteran want additional information or
have unmet needs.
The Veterans Assistance at Discharge System process mails a
``Welcome Home Package,'' including a letter from the Secretary, ``A
Summary of VA Benefits'' (VA Pamphlet 21-00-1), and ``Veterans Benefits
Timetable'' (VA Form 21-0501), to veterans recently separated or
retired from active duty (including Guard/Reserve members). We re-send
this information six months later to these veterans.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs sends a letter to newly separated
OEF/OIF veterans. The letters thank veterans for their service, welcome
them home, and provide basic information about health care and other
benefits provided by VA. Through the first quarter of FY 2008, VA
mailed more than 766,000 initial letters and 150,000 follow-up letters
to veterans.
Families are a vital force in guaranteeing veterans have access to
the care and services they need; they are often the first to notice a
change in behavior or any symptoms. VA works with National Guard family
programs and provides literature on readjustment counseling and health
care services to family program directors at annual training
conferences. Many VA facilities attend ``welcome home'' events and Vet
Centers identify other resources in the community where families and
veterans can establish contact to meet their specific needs. VA is
continuing its work with the Army's Warrior Transition Units at active
duty Army bases and the nine community based health care organizations
to ensure the leadership of these units is linked to case managers at
VA medical centers. VA also supports the Family Assistance Centers at
Army bases with VBA counselors and vocational rehabilitation
specialists who can support and extend VA's outreach efforts to help
service members with enrollment for health care, applications for
disability, or other VA benefits prior to separation from active duty.
VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION
VA currently conducts a comprehensive outreach program, designed to
provide information to all military personnel separating from active
duty. Separating service members are advised about all of the services
and benefits available from VA. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2003
through April of 2008, VA has conducted more than 8,300 briefings and
provided information to approximately 510,000 National Guard and
Reserve attendees.
BENEFITS INFORMATION AT TIME OF INDUCTION INTO SERVICE
VA initiates outreach to National Guard and Reserve members at the
beginning of their military career. Since November 2004, everyone
inducted into the five military branches receives a VA benefits
pamphlet at the military entrance processing station. This pamphlet
provides inductees with basic information on VA benefits and services
at the start of their military active service. We want to be sure they
know that VA will be there for them in the future.
TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP)
One of the formal pre-discharge outreach programs that VA
participates in is the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), which is a
program operated in conjunction with the Department of Labor. TAP is
conducted nationwide and in Europe to prepare retiring or separating
military personnel for return to civilian life, and VA provides
benefits briefings as a part of the program. At these briefings,
service members are informed of the array of VA benefits and services
available, instructed on how to complete VA application forms, and
advised on what evidence is needed to support their claims. Following
the general instruction segment, personal interviews are conducted with
those service members who would like assistance in preparing and
submitting their applications for compensation and/or vocational
rehabilitation and employment benefits.
DISABLED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (DTAP)
Also as a part of TAP, service members leaving the military with a
service-connected disability are offered the Disabled Transition
Assistance Program (DTAP). DTAP is an integral component of transition
assistance for service members who may be released because of
disability. Through VA's DTAP briefings, VA advises transitioning
service members about the benefits available through the Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program. The goal of DTAP is to
encourage and assist potentially eligible service members in making
informed decisions about the VR&E program and to expedite delivery of
these services to eligible service members and veterans.
OTHER OUTREACH EFFORTS
Along with face-to-face outreach efforts, VA is seeking to ensure
that a ``Welcome Home Package'' is sent to all returning National Guard
and Reserve members. DoD provides the names and addresses of these
returnees based on active-duty separation records. The Veterans
Assistance at Discharge System (VADS) then generates a ``Welcome Home
Package'' for recently separated veterans, including Reserve and
National Guard members. The mailing itself contains a letter from VA
and a summary and timetable of VA benefits. In addition to the VADS
mailings, a separate personal letter from the Secretary, along with
benefits information, is sent to each returning OEF/OIF veteran. VADS
also sends separate packages that explain education, loan guaranty, and
insurance benefits. A six-month follow-up letter with the same general
benefits information is also sent to each returning member. VA is
currently working with DoD to update the electronic transfer of this
information.
PARTNERSHIPS
In peacetime, outreach to Reserve and National Guard members is
generally accomplished on an ``on call'' or ``as requested'' basis.
With the onset of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/
OIF) and the activation and deployment of large numbers of Reserve and
National Guard members, VA's outreach to this group has greatly
expanded. VA has made arrangements with Reserve and Guard officials to
schedule briefings for members who are being mobilized and demobilized.
VA Regional Offices assist and support seriously injured OEF/OlF
service members and veterans by case managing their claims, to include
outreach, coordinating services, and expedited claims processing
procedures. In collaboration with DoD, VA published and distributed one
million copies of a new brochure called, ``A Summary of VA Benefits for
National Guard and Reservists Personnel.'' The new brochure summarizes
health care and other benefits available to this special population of
combat veterans upon their return to civilian life.
VA Regional Offices assist and support seriously injured OEF/OlF
service members and veterans by conducting case management activities,
including outreach, coordinating services, and streamlining claims
processing procedures. In collaboration with DoD, VA published and
distributed one million copies of a new brochure called, ``A Summary of
VA Benefits for National Guard and Reservists Personnel.'' The new
brochure summarizes health care and other benefits available to this
special population of combat veterans upon their return to civilian
life.
CONCLUSION
VA's mission is to care for those who have borne the battle, and it
is a mission we take seriously. Every day our clinicians and staff are
developing new methods for providing information to those in need and
for improving the quality of care and benefits we offer. We thank the
Subcommittee for their interest in this matter and we thank DoD for
their cooperative efforts in supporting our veterans.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T3996A.002
Statement of Donald L. Nelson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Reserve Affairs (Manpower and Personnel), U.S. Department of
Defense
Chairman Mitchell, Ranking Member Brown-Waite, and members of the
subcommittee: thank you for your invitation to talk about DoD and VA
cooperation on the reintegration of our National Guard and Reserve
veterans. As you know, Section 582 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for 2008 required the Department to establish a
national combat veteran reintegration program to provide National Guard
and Reserve members and their families with sufficient information,
services, referral, and proactive outreach opportunities throughout the
entire deployment cycle. I'm pleased to tell you that the Joint
Deployment Support and Reintegration Program Office opened on March 17,
2008.
The office has liaisons from the National Guard, the Army Reserve,
the Navy Reserve, and the Air Force Reserve, serving as subject matter
experts to assist us in implementing the program. Veterans Affairs'
Deputy Secretary Mansfield has committed to continue and to strengthen
the partnership with the Department by placing a subject matter expert
from the VA on our staff as well. We are working closely with the VA
VHA/DoD Outreach Office that focuses its efforts on outreach to
National Guard and Reserve members and their families. We also work
with the National Guard Transition Assistance Advisors, the National
Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, the Departments'
Joint Family Resource Center and their Joint Family Support Assistance
Program, as well as each of the National Guard and Reserve family
program offices to ensure that the Department is doing everything
possible to make the best use of available resources to meet the
deployment support requirements of our returning military veterans,
especially those that are geographically separated from military
installations and dispersed in all 54 States and territories as well as
Europe.
We are in the final staffing of the Directive-Type Memorandum that
will implement the Department's deployment support and reintegration
program. That directive requires the Services and their Reserve
components to provide the 30-, 60-, and 90-day reintegration programs
for their returning members beginning in the 4th quarter of this fiscal
year. It also requires them to implement a robust deployment support
and reintegration program beginning in the 1st quarter of fiscal year
2009. Our office will monitor and manage these programs at the
strategic level and ensure that locally available resources are used to
the maximum extent possible while also making sure that the
availability of these programs is shared between the components to
allow members and families to access them at the location closest to
where they reside.
The Department recognizes that support of families and employers is
vital to success. The Department and Reserve Affairs have devoted
substantial resources and efforts toward expanding the support for our
families. The challenge is particularly acute for widely-dispersed
reserve families, most of whom do not live close to major military
installations. Thus, we have developed and promoted Web sites and
electronic support for families, established and promoted the use of
the 700 military family service centers for all Active, Guard and
Reserve members and families to provide personal contact, and hosted
and participated in numerous family support conferences and forums.
Reintegration training and efforts to support members and families
following mobilization, particularly for service in a combat zone, are
vital. The reintegration program in Minnesota has proven to be an
exceptional success and forms the basis for the Joint Deployment
Support and Reintegration Program with its Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Center of Excellence for all Guard and Reserve members. The Department
is fully committed to implementing this program, which will provide
Guard and Reserve members, and their families, the support that will
help them during the entire deployment cycle--from preparation for
active service to successful reintegration upon return to their
community and beyond. We will continue to work with Veterans Affairs,
State Governors and their Adjutants General, the State family program
directors as well as with the Military Services and their components to
ensure an integrated support program is delivered to all Guard and
Reserve members and their families.
The support for employers over the past six years mirrors the
increased support for families. We doubled the budget of the National
Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). We
developed an employer database which identifies the employers of Guard/
Reserve members, expanded the ESGR State committees and their support
(over 4,500 volunteers are now in these committees) and are reaching
out to thousands more employers each year. The Freedom Awards program
and national ceremony to recognize employers selected for this award
has become a capstone event, in which the President has given 45
minutes of his time in the Oval Office in each of the past two years to
recognize the annual Freedom Award winners (15 recipients per year are
selected from more than 2000 nominees from small business, large
business, and the public sector). Never in the history of the Guard and
Reserve have families and employers been supported to this degree and
they appreciate it, as this effort is critical to sustaining an
Operational Reserve.
This Committee has always been very supportive of our National
Guard and Reserve Forces. On behalf of those men and women, I want to
publicly thank you for all your help in providing for them as they have
stepped up to answer the call to duty. The Secretary and I are deeply
grateful, our military personnel and their families certainly
appreciate it, and we know we can count on your continued support.
Thank you very much for this opportunity to testify on behalf of our
Guard and Reserve.
Statement of Reserve Officers Association
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Veterans' Affairs
Committee, on behalf of its 655,000 members, the Reserve Officers
Association expresses its appreciation for the opportunity to present
testimony on issues that affect the 1.1 million men and women now
serving in America's Reserve Components.
As contingency operations bring about ongoing mobilizations and
deployments, many of these outstanding citizen Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have put their civilian careers on
hold while they serve their country in harm's way. Nearly 700,000 have
already served in support of operations. As we have learned, they share
the same risks and their counterparts in the Active Components. The
United States is creating a new generation of combat veterans that come
from its Reserve Components (RC). It is important, therefore, that they
be afforded benefits consistent with their selfless service to their
country and in parity with their active-duty compatriots.
The individuals serving in the States are no less patriotic, and
with the planned rotations by the Department of Defense, they will
likely have a chance to serve overseas. Yet, there is a group of
Reserve Component men and women with non-prior service: Reserve
personnel who qualify for veteran benefits even before mobilization.
These individuals may even be serving in ``harms way,'' but under other
than mobilization orders. Men and women of the Reserve Components on
Active Duty for Special Work (ADSW) orders are performing numerous
missions.
GI BILL BENEFITS
Public Law 106-419, Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement
Act of 2000, was enacted on November 1, 2000. The law repealed the
original provision that states MGIB eligibility is established by the
initial obligated period of active duty. Soldiers who do not meet the
time in service requirement during the first term of service, as stated
above, may become eligible on a subsequent period of active duty. When
service members return to active duty, they are eligible to re-
establish MGIB eligibility by completing 36 months of this subsequent
period of service obligation with a fully honorable character of
service discharge. If the soldiers separate early, the above rules
still apply.
Under partial mobilization, RC service members receive orders
placing them on active duty for up to two years. The current assumption
is that Reserve Component members are not eligible for active duty MGIB
if they cannot serve for 36 months.
When recalled, Guardsmen or Reservists should be eligible
to participate in the active duty GI Bill.
Public Law 106-419 should be as applicable to RC members
as those on active duty. In reality, where DoD plans to do multiple
call-ups as often as once every five years, RC service members should
be entitled to re-establish eligibility and accrue 24 months of
service.
RC members should be permitted to enroll in the GI Bill
by buying-in with 1,200 of their basic pay in the first year of
mobilization, if required. If the enrolled individual is sent home at
the convenience of the government before one year, MGIB withholding
will continue on subsequent recalls.
At the end of the first tour of mobilization,
disenrollment should be offered as a one-time, irrevocable decision.
When RC service members accrue two years of Active
Service, those soldiers should be entitled to the exact same benefit as
their Active Component counterparts.
Disabled Guardsmen and Reservists should be eligible for
the new GI bill or MGIB.
Reservists and Guardsmen with service-connected
disabilities should be afforded the same re-education opportunities as
those on active duty, as the enemy's bullet does not discriminate.
Additional MGIB-SR Enhancements
The MGIB-SR rate has not kept pace with the increasing roles of the
Guard and Reserve.
The MGIB-SR benefit needs to increase to 50 percent of
the MGIB.
The eligibility period needs to begin at the point
service members elect to use the program for the first time.
The eligibility period should extend for 14 years
following their release from military service.
GI Bill for the 21st Century
ROA urges the Congress to authorize and appropriate
adequate funding for a new GI Bill beyond fiscal year 2009.
The Association further supports transferability to
serving members who don't use the benefit to family members.
GI bill payments should be able to be applied to repay
student loans.
Education Reform
The Department of Education has been working hard to contact
education institutes about the administration of the Federal student
financial aid program authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education
Act about recalled students.
If an RC student is recalled and unable to continue
school, a student loan should remain ``in-status'' for the period for
the duration of the mobilization even if it exceeds three years.
A ``total of three years'' should not be cumulative; the
clock should start over with subsequent recalls.
Currently, following notification that borrowers who are in default
of a loan have been called to active duty, lenders cease all collection
activities for the expected period of the borrower's military service.
Collection activities can resume no earlier than 30 days after the end
of the borrower's military service.
Thirty days is an insufficient time for individuals
returning from mobilization to reorganize their lives. Like the example
set with TRICARE medical coverage, this should be extended to at least
90 days.
UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT REFORM
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA) significantly strengthens and expands the employment and
reemployment rights of all uniformed service members. USERRA is
essentially a good law, but the challenge is enforcing it when the
involved parties disagree. When Guard and Reserve members return to
civilian employment following Federal service, actions need to follow
through to enforce the law. A growing population of Reserve Component
members feels that the Federal Government isn't doing enough.
Currently, the agencies tasked to enforce USERRA are the
Departments of Labor and Justice. DOL's Veterans' Employment and
Training Service (VETS) handles USERRA complaints and other veterans'
issues. DOL-VETS provides assistance to all persons having complaints
under USERRA. If resolution is unsuccessful following an investigation,
the privately employed Reservist may have his or her claim referred to
the Department of Justice for consideration for representation in the
appropriate District Court, at no cost to the claimant.
Unfortunately, actual elapsed times of cases often take one to two
years to investigate and process. Within DOL, cases are still processed
on paper; this slows information transfer, and creates the risk of
duplication. In the vast majority of cases, the outcome is dismissal of
the claim. Since USERRA's passage in 1994, most USERRA enforcements
were by Reservists who sought private litigation.
The Reserve Officers Association recommends the following:
The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard
and Reserve (ESGR) should be better resourced to expand its outreach
programs as it is better to prevent a problem by educating employers or
resolve a problem at the lowest level.
Reforms are needed in the USERRA Complaint Process.
The Department of Labor should follow the success of the
Office of Special Council with dedicated investigators and lawyers
assigned to DOL-VETS who specifically focus on USERRA cases.
The Office of Special Council should handle all of the
Federal employee USERRA cases.
USERRA case files should be electronically maintained and
transmitted, allowing access to ESGR, DOL-VETS, OSC, and DOJ and the
service member.
Congress should mandate better reporting by all Federal
agencies by providing details on:
how many cases.
how they are resolved.
how long the actual elapsed time takes.
Accomplishment of objectives should be measured by results rather than
outputs.
Unfortunately, the Federal Government can not handle the increasing
numbers of cases by itself, there is a need to create incentives for
private lawyers to represent Guard and Reserve members who face
employment and reemployment problems. In addition to reemployment:
A court should be allowed to require the employer to
compensate the person for any loss of wages or benefits suffered by
reason of such employer's failure to comply with the provisions of this
chapter.
Amend 38 U.S.C. 4323 and 4324 to authorize punitive
damages for willful and egregious USERRA violations.
Amend 38 U.S.C. 4323(d)(1)(C)_the ``liquidated damages''
provision to require employers who have violated USERRA to remunerate
to the service member an amount of $20,000 or the amount equal to the
actual damages, whichever is greater. Provide a provision in section
4324 allowing for liquidated damages when the employer is a Federal
executive agency and the violation was willful, such as found in
section 4323 as it applies to states, political subdivisions of States,
and private employers.
Amend Title 38 U.S.C. 4323(e) to mandate (rather than
simply permit) injunctive relief to prevent or correct a USERRA
violation.
Court reforms will not be enough. Private lawyers must still be
educated as to why USERRA cases are important to represent. ROA hopes
to create a Law Center that would be:
a hub for sharing information on USERRA and SCRA.
an education source on rights and responsibilities under
USERRA for serving members and provided continuing legal education to
private council.
Servicemembers Law Center
The Reserve Officers Association is exploring the establishment of
a Service-members Law Center, advising Active and Reserve members who
have been subject to legal problems that occur during deployment. This
new center would be located in the renovated Minute Man Memorial
Building on Capitol Hill. A position paper is attached to this
testimony
The law center would provide counseling to demobilized Reserve and
separated Active component members, and could provide a referral
service for those needing legal assistance. This law center would also
educate private lawyers about USERRA and the Servicemember Civil Relief
Act and promote representation of RC members by private lawyers.
To help facilitate this process, the ROA will set-aside office
space, hire one lawyer, and one administrative law clerk.
Goals of Law Center
Recruit: Encourage new members to join the Guard and Reserve by
providing a non-affiliation service to educate prior service members
about Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
and Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protections.
Retain: Work with Active and Reserve Component members to counsel
Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA), USERRA, and
SCRA protections for deployed or recently deployed members facing legal
problems.
Law Center Services
Counseling: Review cases, and advise individuals and their lawyers
as to legitimacy of actions taken against deployed active and reserve
component members.
Referral: Provide names of attorneys within a region that have
successfully taken up USFSPA, USERRA and SCRA issues.
Promote: Publish articles encouraging law firms and lawyers to
represent service members in USFSPA, USERRA and SCRA cases.
Advise: File Amicus Curiae, ``friend of the court'' briefs on
servicemember protection cases.
Educate: Quarterly seminars to educate attorneys a better
understanding of USFSPA, USERRA and SCRA.
ROA hopes that the Committee will support the
Servicemembers Law Center project.
While the above reforms will positively affect USERRA enforcement,
many other things need to be done to improve USERRA:
Exempt employees from penalties when their insurance
lapses if their motor carrier license expires while mobilized (i.e.,
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).
Exempt servicemembers from the age restrictions on
Federal law enforcement retirement applications when deployment causes
the servicemember to miss completion of the application to buy back
retirement eligibility.
Amend Title 49 U.S.C. 44935 to apply USERRA to
servicemembers employed by the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) as screeners.
Amend 38 U.S.C. 4302(b) to make clear that USERRA
overrides an agreement to submit future USERRA disputes to binding
arbitration.
Amend 38 U.S.C. 4303 (definition of ``employer'') to
clarify that a successor in interest (a new employer often resulting
from a merger, transfer of assets or takeover of a function between
companies) inherits the predecessor's USERRA obligations and that a
merger or transfer of assets is not necessary to support a finding of
successor liability.
Devise a method to tie the escalator principle to merit
pay systems.
ROA also suggests the following improvements to SCRA.
Include National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) commissioned officers corps under SCRA coverage.
Amend the SCRA to give the mobilized RC member the right
to terminate a contract for telephone service, including cell phone
service.
Amend the SCRA to clarify that the Act applies to the
debts of limited liability companies and Subchapter S corporations when
the company/corporation is wholly owned by the servicemember or the
servicemember and a spouse and the servicemember is personally liable
on the debt, either as a co-maker or as a guarantor.
Amend the SCRA to add a provision specifically granting a
servicemember or the dependent of a servicemember a right of action to
sue violators to enforce the servicemember's rights under the SCRA and
to recover any damages that may have been incurred.
Amend the SCRA to add a provision authorizing a court to
award exemplary or punitive damages and attorneys' fees to
servicemembers whose rights are violated intentionally or willfully
under the SCRA by creditors.
Amend section 201 of the SCRA (50 U.S.C. App. Sec. 521(b)
(2) to provide that the reasonable fees of the attorney appointed by
the court to represent the servicemember shall be taxed as costs of
court.
Amend section 305 of the SCRA (50 U.S.C. App. Sec. 535)
to specifically provide that a landlord may not impose an early
termination fee if a servicemember terminates a lease pursuant to the
SCRA and to allow a servicemember to give the landlord a letter from
his/her commanding officer in lieu of providing copies of deployment/
PCS orders.
SEAMLESS TRANSITION IN HEALTH CARE
Physical Screening of servicemembers is needed at demobilization
sites to document the exit state of the individual. Medical Records of
Guard and Reserve members are not maintained as completely as those
members on active duty. Documentation is a key.
Completion of the Medical Review/Physical Evaluation Board for
individuals with medical problems is essential, to document fitness for
service and potential medical complications. Such documentation helps
the Department of Veterans Affairs record and process claims.
In order to create a more seamless transition of health care, the
ROA recommends the following enhancements:
Medical records and information management systems in the
Department of Defense need to be redesigned to be less cumbersome. The
Department of Defense needs an electronic medical records system that
is compatible with the systems from the Veterans Affairs.
Improve the exchange of information between the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding
military discharge decisions. The inter-agency connectivity and
cooperation needs to be enhanced to better serve those that have served
our Nation so well.
Reservists need proper education and counseling in
benefits, allowances, and assistance that are offered to wounded
service personnel. A Reservist returns to a civilian community that may
not have a nearby military installation. When considering this proposal
there are many possible sources of training for personnel, including
Reserve units and Veteran Service Organizations.
JAGs should receive additional training in benefits,
allowances, and resources and be made available for any legal
assistance needed. Benefit systems can be confusing and the bureaucracy
difficult to navigate; wounded warriors should not be left on their
own. Once released from Active duty, Reservists are only partially tied
to the military organization.
Line of duty determinations must be made in a timely
manner, with the ability to perform home status duty, while waiting the
outcome from medical or physical evaluation boards.
Long waits for medical or physical evaluation boards, in
some cases a year or more, without drilling can cause Reservists to
lose a satisfactory year. These non-qualifying years can affect
promotion opportunities and retirement eligibility. The assignments of
wounded warriors can and must be adjusted to accommodate their post-
injury condition.
Benefits must be equal for all wounded warriors. All
disparity in annual disability payments between the Active and Reserve
components must be eliminated. Variances in VA ratings between States
need to be standardized.
Develop a Senior Enlisted report system at each medical
facility to the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the respective Reserve
Component Chiefs describing the condition of their medical facility.
One of the traditional roles of any Senior Enlisted Advisor from a
Platoon Sergeant to the Sergeant Major is ensuring the welfare of
soldiers. The services must give the senior enlisted the tools to
accomplish that mission at military treatment facilities.
Reservists should have the option to return home while
awaiting surgery, physical therapy or other medical treatment. They
should also have the choice to receive these services from local
TRICARE medical professionals at DoD expense. Many of these citizen-
warriors are often forced into an unfair choice between receiving full
continued care on Active duty or a ``discounted'' disability for a
quicker return to their civilian lives.
Wounded warriors should be assigned to units local to
their homes for the purpose of accountability and tracking their
progress through the medical system. These service members risk falling
between the cracks that are created between the Department of Defense
and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The military needs to take
responsibility for monitoring and advocating for their people until
they are fully integrated into the Veterans Affairs system.
Extensive mental health assessments should be given
immediately upon return to home units with follow-up assessments as
prescribed by mental health officials. When Reservists return to their
civilian lives they may develop mental complications not previously
noticed. Experts in this field need to be consulted to determine a
monitoring program with no negative career repercussions associated
with seeking mental health treatment.
Traumatic Brain injury is the signature wound from Iraq.
Predeployment baseline tests should be taken to measure changes in
returning warriors.
SEAMLESS TRANSITION UNDER TRICARE, REQUIRING CHANGES TO USERRA AND SCRA
Initial Coverage: The FY 2005 National Defense Authorization Act
made permanent initial TRICARE health coverage up to 90 days prior to
activation for servicemembers who receive a ``delayed-effective-date''
order for contingency operations greater than 30-days.
The Risk: If Reserve component (RC) members have their orders
canceled after enrolling in the initial TRICARE coverage, and they also
have canceled their employer's health insurance, they are at risk. When
the member returns to his employer and hasn't been covered under
orders, he or she no longer has USERRA protection.
Legislative Solution: Section 4317 of title 38 (USERRA) needs
language included to protect this group of Guardsmen and Reservists.
Demobilization Coverage: Congress made TAMP and TRS benefits
permanent in the FY 05 NDAA. Changes to USERRA and SCRA are needed.
Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) provides 180 days
health care coverage as a transition to civilian life. Under TAMP, the
service member and family members are eligible to use TRICARE.
TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) is a health plan offered to Selected
Reservists while they remain in a drill status. Should they discontinue
drilling, they lose coverage.
The problem: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act
(USERRA) and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) have not been
updated to match these TRS health care enhancements.
SCRA: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides for the
reinstatement of any individual health insurance upon termination or
release from service. The insurance must have been in effect before
such service commenced and terminated during the period of military
service. The reinstatement of the health insurance is not subject to
exclusions or a waiting period if the medical condition in question
arose before or during the period of service. The servicemember must
apply for the reinstatement of the health insurance within 120 days
after termination or release from military service.
USERRA: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act (USERRA) ensures immediate reinstatement of health care by the
employer only at the time when the RC member returns to employment. If
the RC member continues on TAMP health care, or chooses to use the
TRICARE Reserve Select coverage, the employer could decline
reinstatement of health care to the Reservist when the government plan
expires, requiring him or her to wait until the next open registration
period, which could be months in the future.
The Risk: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPPA) states that a pre-existing condition will be covered when
transitioning between insurance plans if an individual was ``covered by
previous health insurance (which qualifies under HIPAA as creditable
coverage) and if there was not a break in coverage between the plans of
63 days or more.'' TRICARE is a qualifying plan.
If a member utilizes transitional health care over 120 days for an
individual health insurance, or declines the employer's plan on the day
of re-employment to continue on TRS, the demobilized service member may
lose his or her USERRA or SCRA protection for a continuation of health
care coverage. Should a waiting period exceed 63 days, pre-existing
conditions of the member or family may not be covered.
Legislative Solution
Section 4317 of title 38 (USERRA) needs to include protections for
returning RC member employees who elect TRICARE Reserve Select.
Subsection (a)(1) of section 4317 of title 38, United States Code,
should be amended by inserting after `by reason of service in the
uniformed services,' the following: `or such person becomes eligible
for medical under chapter 55 of title 10 by reason of subsection (d) of
section of 1074 or 1076 of that title.'
Section 704 of the Servicemembers Civil relief act states in
section (d) TIME FOR APPLYING FOR REINSTATEMENT--An application under
this section must be filed not later than 120 days after the date of
the termination of or release from military service. Suggested change
180 from 120 days and inclusion of ``or upon completion of the person's
eligibility for medical care under chapter 55 of title 10 by reason of
subsection (d) of section 1076 of that title.''
If TRICARE benefits aren't protected under USERRA and SCRA, members
may only provide health care plans for family members, and turn to the
Veterans Health Administration for their personal health care coverage.
At a time when the VHA system is taxed by high demand, and health care
costs are increasing, TRICARE benefits as well as Military and VHA
medical coverage should be optimized.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee, America's
service men and women from the Reserve Components come from the heart
of communities across this great country and its territories. Many were
among the first to respond to their nation's call after September 11,
2001. They have proven themselves to be worthy heroes and capable
warriors and have earned the respect they so richly deserve from their
fellow citizens. What they also deserve is the equality in benefits
that are given to their Active Component brothers and sisters.
The Reserve Officers Association urges the Congress to ensure that
our newest veterans, the members of our Reserve Components, are treated
equitably and fairly in benefits in addition to being honored as proud
citizen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in the highest
traditions of this great country.