National Commander’s Message: Making Assured Funding a Reality in the 110th Congress The American Legion is making our voices heard on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a veterans roundtable with the House leadership. In attendance were House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer; Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton; Dave Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations; John Spratt, Chairman of the Budget Committee; Chet Edwards, Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcomittee and an array of freshmen. I addressed the issue of (mandatory) assured funding at this session that lasted ninety minutes. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to testify before the Veterans Affairs Committee concerning the President’s 2008 Budget. That afternoon, I was able to brief the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on the great work that you do in support of the Four Pillars of The American Legion - veterans affairs and rehabilitation, children and youth, national security and Americanism. Our voice is being heard. Just this past week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced legislation (S. 439) to expand eligibility for concurrent retirement and disability payments (CRDP). His measure is the companion bill to Rep. Gus Bilirakis' H.R. 303 in the House. Both bills would authorize immediate concurrent receipt for all retirees with at least 20 years of service who have disability ratings from the VA. Recently, I conveyed my appreciation to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for their leadership role in reinstating the traditional Joint Sessions of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees for veterans’ service organizations. I also thanked the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees’ leadership for the their efforts in reinstating The American Legion’s full voice on Capitol Hill. This wise decision restores vital congressional forums for the entire veterans’ community so that we can offer budget recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs for the next fiscal year, months ahead of the President’s official budget request. This joint session also provides Congress with valuable information with regards to key topics for future hearings as well. Many thanks go to Legionnaires across the country for remaining persistent and keeping these issues on the forefront with their congressional representatives, making this a big win for The American Legion family. I am delighted to see that the new Congress is becoming more attuned to the needs of our veterans. However, we must not become complacent when we see legislative progress being made in favor of our veterans’ well being. Now is the time to educate your U.S. Representative and their staffs on the importance of securing assured funding for our veterans. You only have to look to the evening news or morning papers to know why assured funding is a must. Last month, Marine Lance Corporal Schulze, suffering from a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder, committed suicide at a friend’s home in New Prague, Minn. The combat-wounded warrior received two Purple Hearts for his service and shrapnel injuries he sustained to his neck and hip while stationed in Fallujah and Ramadi. While he was there, 35 Marines in his unit were killed, including 17 of them in just 48 hours of intense combat. He looked forward to returning home to Minnesota to renew his life with loved ones and friends, but the horrific images and sounds of war followed him home. Unable to deal with his stress and wishing to salvage his relationship with his family, in particular, his baby daughter, Schulze went to the VA Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn. He told a staff member he was thinking of killing himself and asked to be admitted to the mental health unit. He was told that he could not be admitted that day. When he spoke to a counselor on the following day, he was told that he was No. 26 on the waiting list. Four days later, Schulze, 25, the father of a beautiful six-month old daughter, committed suicide. While there is a full-scale investigation going on into the VA’s handling of Schulze’s case, I find it very sad that there are 26 other veterans on that waiting list ahead of Schultz waiting to be seen. I wonder how long they had to wait to get on that list. I wonder how many veterans, who are fighting acute bronchitis, or need a new prosthetic, or are suffering from diabetes or any other medical need. And the more I look back on my experiences and observations with our veterans accessibility to VA hospitals, I hear the same story - limited staff at VA hospitals due to financial cut backs. On Tuesday of this week, the Veteran Affairs Health Revenue Center in Topeka announced a hiring freeze that will delay efforts to fill 90 new jobs. About 350 people work at the four-year-old center, which answers phone calls from veterans nationwide with questions about their health care bills. VA officials there say the hiring freeze is in place because Congress hasn't passed a permanent budget for the current fiscal year. The agency is operating under a continuing resolution that extends the old budget until a new one is passed. VA officials are hopeful the new budget will be approved by the time the continuing resolution expires February 15th. VA health care should not be a guessing game. I am convinced more than ever that Congress needs to pass legislation in favor of assured funding. Lance Corporal Schulz’s situation is a tragic one, but the pattern of having to wait…to be put on a list and have to wait months if not weeks to be seen…is still a challenge we must overcome. Under current law, funding for VHA is provided in an annual appropriation. That appropriation typically includes funds for medical care for veterans (the bulk of the appropriation); funds for construction or renovation of hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics; and funds to pay operating expenses. In 2002, The American Legion initiated the “I Am Not A Number” campaign to better understand the quality and timeliness of health care delivery within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This program surveyed veterans on their personal experiences with the VA healthcare system and provided The American Legion with a clear snapshot of the needs of the VA system wide. These first hand accounts of veteran’s experiences identified a trend within VA. They reported that the quality of health care was exceptional, but complained of the difficulty of accessing that care. Military veterans deserve better from their country. Many veterans, men and women, who risked their lives for America, are now losing the final battle. The cost of war is ongoing; it doesn’t end on the battlefield. They should not have to wait long periods of time for basic health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs because of a lack of funding or bureaucratic mismanagement. Many veterans have to wait, sometimes years… sometimes until it’s too late … for the most basic health care. And in some cases, such as Lance Corporal Schulze, their need to be seen immediately is a matter of life and death. The bottom line is this: VA health care must be funded on a dollars-per-veteran basis, indexed annually for inflation, with the ability to bill Medicare for reimbursement. Assured funding will keep all veterans who earned VA care in the system. What can you do at the post level? First, keep your eyes and ears open for testimonials from the likes of Lance Corporal Jonathan Schultz. Assist them in getting help at the nearest VA hospital. Under VA policy, a veteran talking about suicide would immediately be escorted into the hospital’s locked mental unit for treatment. Also, under VA policy, local police should be contacted to check on any veteran who talks about suicide over the phone. There are also many private clinicians or not-for-profit agencies that offer specialized treatment for PTSD similar to care provided by VA. There are clinicians - (psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers) -- that are Certified Trauma Specialists (CTS) who are very qualified to treat PTSD. The second thing Legion family members - and indeed all Americans - can do is to urge their members of Congress to support assured funding for VA health care to allow every eligible veteran seeking VA care to receive that care. Keep track of testimonials from your comrades and veterans in your community and share these with your Congressman and his or her staff. You can write them, send them emails or make calls to their congressional staff offices in Washington D.C., and in their district headquarters. With the Heroes to Hometown program in full swing, our Troop Support Services engaged in most American Legion communities across this great country and American Legion Service Officers interfacing with our veterans one-on-one, we certainly have the testimonials and facts to educate our members of Congress on the importance of assured funding. With your help, as members of The American Legion Family dedicated to the principle of “veterans helping veterans,” we can make this a banner year for veterans advocacy. May God bless, Paul A. Morin President Provides Wartime VA Budget Recommendation American Legion National Commander Paul A. Morin announced earlier this week he is encouraged by President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The $87 billion proposal includes increased funding for key programs such as mental health care and the construction of long overdue medical facilities. However, the leader of the world’s largest veterans organization quickly added that the provisions contained in the budget proposal that seek to charge enrollment fees to Priority Group 7 and 8 veterans, and almost double prescription co-pays is an injustice. “Denying access to health care to veterans in priority group 8, while recommending annual enrollment fees between $250 and $750 for those already in the system is an insult to veterans turning to VA for promised care,” Morin said. Morin hailed the construction portion of the budget proposal, which contains funding for new medical facilities in areas identified in The American Legion’s System Worth Saving Task Force reports. Identified in those reports was the desperate need for new VA medical centers in Denver, Colo.; Orlando, Fla.; and Las Vegas. A total of $437 million has been recommended for the construction of these much-needed facilities. While Morin commended the President’s proposal as a positive step in the right direction, it falls short of the $36 billion before collections for medical care as recommended last September by The American Legion. The increased focus on the claims backlog and VA’s mental health care delivery received praise from Morin. “The American Legion is pleased with proposed increases in funding and additional personnel to address the backlog of claims as well as VA’s ability to meet the mental health care needs of America’s veterans,” Morin said. “VA must be capable of meeting the increasing demand for mental health care services. We, as a nation, are obligated to treat all of the wounds of war and this budget will help meet that obligation.” The American Legion will continue to work with Congress to ensure VA is funded at a level that will allow all veterans to receive the health care and benefits they have earned through their service. “I applaud the President for recognizing the need to adequately fund VA and as Commander it is a priority to work toward a budget that will not place additional financial burden on veterans who turn to VA. As a nation at war, we must not forget that caring for our veterans is part of the cost of war.” Letters from the Front Editors Note: Both of these men were on Boys Nation staff last year. Clay Ballenger (OK) did an 18-month deployment to Afghanistan and Adam Bock, son of Tom (PNC) and Elaine Bock, is there now. Clay’s letter is in response to Adam’s. Please note that this is information you will not find on the evening news. To All Those Concerned Back Home- First, I must start with an apology to all. I am sorry, I have been receiving many... many packages of support from home, and I have not been able to send a personal thanks. When I was in Iraq, I tried to make it a point to send a hand letter to most of you, and this rotation I have found free time very limited. Please except my apology and I ask for your understanding for the lack of personal thanks, I am hoping my personal time increases and I get the opportunity to thank you better. Life here is much busier then it was in Iraq, and I am sure that comes with my position. My job keeps me intertwined with the big picture operations throughout the theater. I must say it is rather interesting and very overwhelming. There is a lot of action going on here, and I am sure that the news media is not accurately portraying all that we are accomplishing. Through my realm I constantly deal with trying to logistically support operations here, with funding and support at a minimum. It is impressive to me that we have been so successful here in Afghanistan with the strict limits we have on our budget and support. From the air I have seen many of the local Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) where the true fighting is taking place. Soldiers are stretched thin throughout this mountainous country conducting serious combat operations with very minimal supplies. The locations that these soldiers are living and fighting are so remote the only means of resupply is through helicopter airlift. The mountains are so rugged that roads do not exist, and with extreme winter weather keeping helicopters from entering the valleys, soldiers go weeks without support. It is bitter cold in the Northern Mountains of Afghanistan; these soldiers are fighting in the foothills of the Himalayas... Foothills that top well over 15,000 feet above sea level. The environment is harsh, their faces look tired and beaten, the cold air has taken a hard toll on their bodies and it shows through their expressions. With no roads and only small trails, our soldiers are using mules and horses to move supplies. I never thought the Army still used mules, but they are in full force here. These soldiers make me think of the early mountain-men of the Appalachians, their faces are covered with beards and they wear anything they have for warmth. They hardly look American when they approach the helicopter, but when they do they are a glorious symbol of freedom. I have the highest respect for these mountain-men and what they are accomplishing. Iraq is stealing all of the media from the soldiers here; it is embarrassing to me that car bombs and IEDs fill out televisions while soldiers here are not only fighting and winning a war, but also struggling to survive in the harshest of conditions. Any infantry or forward operating soldier of Afghanistan truly deserves praise from all Americans. After spending a year in this place, in homes with no running water, electricity, or the ability to get mail from home. These soldiers deserve nothing but respect and appreciation from all American citizen and the government. Please keep the fight going on the home front to support our soldiers no matter what support we show for the decisions of our government. Please remember, I am making a difference, the flying is amazing, and I am happy and proud to be here. I love you all, miss you dearly, and can't wait to get home soon. Love, Adam Letters From The Front: Clay Ballenger Wow, brings back some memories. I lived on the Infantry Forward Operating Bases for the entire year. I was there and I can concur that it was rough. Most Americans don't have any idea what our soldiers are "enduring" in Operation Enduring Freedom with very limited resources and logistics. I always said, we were the "red-headed stepchildren” of the war. It doesn't make the evening news but when one soldier dies in Afghanistan it's comparable to five dying in Iraq based on percentages and numbers of troops in the region. The casualty numbers from Afghanistan don't tell the true story. When I was there, we had 25,000 or so troops in Afghanistan and 122,000 or so in Iraq. To give you an idea of how the soldiers on the ground live, I'll tell a quick story about the base I lived on. It was an Afghan Forward Operating Base that was located on an old Russian air base. There were no buildings left on the base due to bombings and years of fighting. There were only ruins. We were seven American soldiers living with 200 Afghan soldiers. Our quarters were plywood shacks erected on an open field. We had no chow hall, no PX and no running water. Electricity was provided by a generator outside our plywood building. Our heat source in the winter was a stove fueled by dripping diesel fuel into the belly of the stove and lighting that with a match (electric heaters would have over-loaded the generator). The winters were brutally cold. We ate MRE's or food received in care packages from home. We drove Ford Ranger pickups on Infantry combat missions because there were not enough Hummers for everyone in the country. You should see what a roadside bomb does to a Ranger pickup and the soldiers inside. We would make a trip at least once a month to the American Air Base in Kabul to draw the $50,000 cash we needed to supply the Afghan Army and keep our "base" running. We also got a chance then to buy a few "necessities" like soda, snacks, magazines, etc. American contractors would not come to our base because they felt the security was too poor. They required to be escorted in Up-Armored Hummers which we did not have. Therefore, we hired all of our work done on the local economy; trusting local "contractors" for repairs to all of our infrastructure, vehicles, etc. I eventually hired a local man to dig us a water well and put an electric pump in it so that we could have some water supply. It was not fit to drink but we could wash with it. Our security on the perimeter was Afghan soldiers. I spent many nights on guard duty watching the perimeter because the Afghans would sleep on duty. Many of you know captains don't normally do a whole lot of guard duty. We all pulled our weight and made the best of it. I could go on and on but I will save that for another day. I in no way intended to take anything away from Adam's letter. My intention was to add to it and hopefully shed even more light on the situation there. The pilots who transported our much-needed supplies and us are our heroes! Their jobs are very dangerous and the flying there can be very hazardous as Adam knows. Much of the flights when I was there were at night because of RPG attacks on the helicopters. I was so proud of those crews and their dedication. This foot soldier will never forget the men and women like Adam who made our lives so much better. My thoughts and prayers are with Adam and his family. Clay Ballenger |
