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43–996 2009

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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ii 

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

BOB FILNER, California, Chairman 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

VIC SNYDER, Arkansas 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, South 

Dakota 

HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona 

JOHN J. HALL, New York 

PHIL HARE, Illinois 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado 

CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

DONALD J. CAZAYOUX., JR., Louisiana 

STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Ranking 

CLIFF STEARNS, Florida 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina 

JEFF MILLER, Florida 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida 

MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio 

BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana 

MALCOM A. SHORTER, Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS 

HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona, Chairman 

ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas 

GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida, Ranking 

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 official version. Because electronic submissions are used to 

prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting 

between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process 

is further refined. 


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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 MathewsonChapman, 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 ........... 46 

Reserve Officers Association, statement ................................................................ 47 


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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 


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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.] 


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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 

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man, 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 

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nately 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 


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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 


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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 


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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 


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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 


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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. 


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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, 


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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 emails, 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 


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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, exVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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pert 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 


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(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 veteran. 

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? 


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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? 


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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 programs. 

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. 


rmajette on PRODPC74 with HEARING
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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. 46.] 

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 MathewsonChapman for up to 5 minutes each. And we can begin with Colonel 

Ritter. 


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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 


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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 AcVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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countability 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 


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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 MATHEWSONCHAPMAN 

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. 


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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. 


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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 esVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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tablishing 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 


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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 incorVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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porated 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. 


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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 


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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, 


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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.] 


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A P P E N D I X 

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 famiVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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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. 

f 

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. 

f 

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 


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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 


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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. 


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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. 

f 

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 


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(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. 


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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. 


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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: 


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• 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. 


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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. 

f 

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. 


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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 misVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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sion 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 informaVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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tion 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 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. 


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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 separaVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:08 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 043996 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\43996.XXX 43996

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tion 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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f 

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 


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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. 

f 

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. 


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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. 


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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 servicemember. 

• 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. 


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• 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 


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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. § 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. § 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 


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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. 


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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. 

Æ 


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