Guard support: Critique of services for Guard members offers some good ideas
Anchorage Daily News, October 17, 2008
Alaska Army National Guard members who are deployed overseas , as well as their families, deserve better support than they’re getting, but Tuesday’s report from the Veterans for America went overboard with its criticism of the Guard.
The early version was thin on backup and included a seemingly gratuitous swipe at Gov. Sarah Palin’s leadership of the Guard. Many of the Alaska problems identified in the draft have their roots in national policy, beyond the control of any governor.
Lt. Gen. Craig Campbell, commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, wasn’t far off the mark when he called the early version a “political hatchet job.”
But the state and others concerned with improving services for Guard members can’t just dismiss the veterans’ group’s critique altogether. Its final report toned down the rhetoric and focused on how Guard members and their families struggle with the stresses of long deployments.
The critique noted that Guard members nationwide and in Alaska have trouble getting support services, such as medical care, that are routinely available to regular active duty military members who have served in a war zone.
And the report points out some particular difficulties faced by Guard members in Alaska. Many of them live in isolated rural villages and must make an expensive plane flight to reach a VA clinic.
These are not new observations. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in a Senate hearing last November, highlighted the lack of ready access to medical care for Bush soldiers. And Lt. Gen. Campbell points out Congress just passed a bill that directs the Veterans Administration to use the Indian Health Service to get medical care to rural service members.
But the Veterans for America report keeps the pressure on to improve conditions for citizen soldiers in Alaska and nationwide.
Veterans for America is a nonprofit group that advocates for service members and veterans.
“We’ve been trying for five years to get attention paid to the National Guard in this country,” said Adrienne Willis, co-director of the group’s National Guard program. “It’s a national problem. But the existence of the rural population and the realities of Alaska made it different from National Guard problems we’ve seen elsewhere.”
The report advocates increased mental health screening, both before and after deployments. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a similar proposal within the past week for blanket screening of all returning troops. Screening everyone will “help remove the stigma of raising your hand,” and saying you need help, a USA Today article quoted Mullen as saying.
Gen. Campbell says he’d like to see comprehensive mental health screening too but would need funding.
Campbell disagrees strongly though with the Veterans for America’s conclusion that services here are so inadequate that the U.S. shouldn’t deploy the Alaska National Guard until the situation is remedied.
That would be a pretty drastic step.
It is clear that the entire country is still learning about the effects of post-combat stress as America continues a prolonged engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because Alaska is so remote and spread out, it is a challenging place to make sure our guard, and all military veterans, get the support they deserve when they return home.
Alaska’s National Guard and military veterans endure tremendous disruption in their lives and their families’ lives when they go overseas to protect our country. The least we can do is make sure they and their families are well-supported in coping with the burdens of their selfless service.
BOTTOM LINE: The Veterans for America report brings more attention to weaknesses in the support system for Alaska National Guard members.