5-Point Veteran's Agenda for Virginia

Mike believes we must meet our sacred contract with veterans and their families.  He will fight to improve services for military families during and after deployment.
   
As Lieutenant Governor, Mike will promote the following five-point plan:

1.  Improve Medical Resources for Veterans:   Today’s soldier is the most battle-hardened in the 36-year history of the volunteer army, but multiple deployments are taking a toll.  PTSD, TBI, and other combat-related ailments are increasing among veterans, and suicide rates have spiked.   As a partial remedy, Virginia’s General Assembly recently passed the Wounded Warrior Act, which includes provisions for linking veterans with providers and training medical professionals in the special needs of military personnel.   Yet in 2008 less than 40% of recent veterans sought medical help.   Veterans still lack necessary mental health services, and the system is not yet fully coping with their needs.

As Lieutenant Governor, Mike will work to:

•    Promote a new “HomeCorps” program to link mental health professionals and trained volunteers with recently discharged veterans and their families.  For those showing signs of distress, the program will play an invaluable role in assuring proper care and treatment. The program will also support military families, who can participate as outreach volunteers or enroll for benefits.  
•    Improve the training of Virginia’s medical professionals in combat-related mental health by convening a working group to review training needs and develop innovative training strategies.  As part of this program, military health professionals will be enlisted to speak with the civilian medical community regarding the identification and treatment of veteran mental health needs.

2.  Assist Returning Veterans to Reintegrate: Upon return from deployment, servicemen and women currently attend brief post-deployment classes.  But this approach is too little, too late. Our state is developing plans to provide local counseling information for military families, and the Virginia Department of Mental Health contains a list of useful programs.  Yet many veterans still lack awareness, training, and access to resources that they need to readjust to civilian life.

As Lieutenant Governor, Mike will work to:

•    Establish a program of immediate post-deployment activities for military families, including airport welcome ceremonies, briefings on available services, and health Q&A sessions.  
•    Launch a “Yellow Ribbon Retreat” program for returnees and their families 2-3 months after discharge, when veterans have begun to readjust to home life and identify potential needs.  Retreats at some of Virginia’s finest institutions will combine family activities with briefings about available services, including the HomeCorps program.  Program funding will come from public-private partnerships between federal and state offices and Virginia’s hospitality industry.
•    Link Virginia military personnel and their families with available medical resources by establishing a web portal with information on local health and counseling services across the state.

3.  Increase Veteran Access to Education:   Military veterans receive education benefits under the federal GI Bill, but there are still state restrictions.  As home to one of the nation’s largest military populations, Virginia should be on the forefront of education programming for military families.

As Lieutenant Governor, Mike will work to:

•    Improve education services for veteran and their families by waiving the year-long residency requirement for public colleges and universities for veterans relocating to Virginia. 
•    Inform Virginia military families of available education programs on a single web portal.

4. Improve Services for National Guardsmen and Reservists: Virginia needs to serve not only its veterans, but also National Guardsmen and Reservists.  Although several states have created programs that help to reintegrate families following Guard deployments, our state can be a pioneer in this area. 

As Lieutenant Governor, Mike will work to:

•    Advocate for the proper and efficient payment of Virginia’s National Guardsmen on deployment.  Guardsmen deployed overseas have had difficulties receiving their additional deployment and hazard pay.   Mike will work with the Commandant General of the Virginia Defense Force to ensure that Virginia’s Guardsmen have the proper paperwork to receive pay.
•    Lift the state income tax burden on Virginia residents deployed overseas.  Unlike many other states, Virginians who serve in the National Guard, Reserves, or on active duty must pay state taxes while deployed.   Lifting this burden would honor their sacrifices.

5. Increase Support for Military Families during Deployment:  Military personnel are better able to perform their duties if they know their families are being cared for in their absence.  Yet current programs for aiding families during deployment are too superficial to deal with their needs.  
   
In order to support military families preparing for deployment, Mike will work to:

•    Create an online information center for VA military families that lists available support services, including how to stay in touch during deployments and how to get international calling cards.   
•    Establish classes for military spouses on the needs of returning servicemen and women, warning signs that a veteran may need help, strategies for promoting family reintegration, and available state and private resources. These classes are modeled on the Battlemind Reunion Training Program.

Footnotes:

1. Sig Christensen, “War Not Limited to the Battlefield,” San Antonio Express-News, March 15, 2009; Scott Fontaine, "More Help for Deployed Who Hurt," Tacoma News Tribune, March 15, 2009.
2. See Virginia’s Army Community Covenant webpage: http://www.acsim.army.mil/community_covenant/state/virginia.htm.
3. Kate Wiltrout, “Conference touts medical records for vets,” The Virginia Pilot, March 27, 2008.
4. Volunteers would be reimbursed for their expenses but not their time donated to the program.
5. n addition to the Virginia’s Army Community Covenant webpage, see the Virginia Department of Mental Health site: http://www.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov/OMH-Veterans.htm. 
6. This program is modeled on one in Washington state.  See Fontaine, “More Help for Deployed Who Hurt.”
7. The program builds on the Army’s Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program. See www.arfp.org/yellowribbon
8. GAO Report on Military Pay: “Army National Guard Personnel Mobilized to Active Duty Experienced Significant Pay Problems.”  November 2003.  Available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0489.pdf
9. They do have a filing extension.  See http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=MilitaryTaxTips#Resident
10. For an example of assistance, see the Army Reserves’ Warrior and Family Assistance Center.  www.arfp.org
11. See Eve Meinhardt, “Reunion Training Helps Families Reconnect,” March 16, 2009 on the military.com website.