The end of 2019 marked my one-year anniversary as ROA’s legislative director. The number of activations among members of the National Guard and Reserve since 9/11 almost certainly will reach 1 million early in 2020, and so it’s an opportune moment to review some legislative issues that will affect the readiness of these forces to help defend our nation.
My National Guard service started in 2008. I didn’t experience the hard times when the reserves were not covered by Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, not provided training money, and did not have the option of buying an affordable TRICARE Reserve Select health plan. I did, however, use the National Guard’s tuition assistance program to begin my undergraduate studies. The program used to run low on money and often would not pay in the final months of the year.
Our service is better understood now, but if education and health care translate into readiness, as our military leaders consistently claim, the Reserve and Guard need federal law to be updated to reflect today’s service.
TRICARE Reserve Select provides affordable health care to servicemembers who otherwise could not afford care. The program facilitates health care for small injures and health issues that previously could prevent a servicemember’s deployment, directly eroding unit readiness.
Health care is a necessity for servicemembers, and a benefit for their family members that incentivizes service. Active-duty military members get free care 24/7; our reserves are now increasingly used like the active forces. Their readiness to deploy on short notice has been exercised heavily, and the Pentagon tells us that such “operational tempo” won’t decrease anytime soon.
To maintain readiness, we should introduce “no cost” health care for members of the reserve components that fits the revolutionary new tempo of their service.
Just as with health care, education has become much more important than in the past. Civilian schooling is a discriminator when it comes to advancement and opportunity. The post-9/11 GI Bill makes university diplomas, as well as vocational “career” diplomas and certifications, possible for veterans who otherwise may have difficulty affording school, including members of the Guard and Reserve.
Yet, some well-meaning advocates would limit the ability of many of the best private “for-profit” career schools to use “9/11” and other education funds. An example to limit funds is Senate bill 2857, now under consideration. The effect would be to limit choices for men and women who earned them with service to the nation. ROA thinks this is unacceptable.
As a National Guard Retention NCO, I often advised young soldiers on career opportunities and how to get the education necessary to achieve their goals. Frequently, they wanted to go into a skilled labor field, such as automotive mechanics. The fastest way to gain the necessary certifications often was through private institutions. Proposed legislation would limit Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) funds that these private schools can receive; even the VA predicted that tens of thousands of GI Bill users could see their choices wither. And perhaps, too, their prospects for military advancement.
Affecting equity, and thus propensity to keep serving, members of the Reserve and Guard contend with an outdated and flawed system of tracking their service, including decorations. While members of the active force have better real-time record keeping, reservists get only an updated “DD-214” record at the end of an active-duty period. That creates significant gaps, which can span years of service. Such gaps can prevent receipt of VA care, such as may be important for someone experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts. We cannot afford to leave reservists without guaranteed access to the benefits they earned, and which may help maintain their readiness to serve.
Reserve servicemembers are not the only ones affected by high operations tempo. ROA is seeing evidence of deployment “fatigue” among some otherwise patriotic employers, including those in government. Imagine yourself the owner or director of a company whose logistics manager is about to make her third deployment in five years. It happens. How patriotic are you? We are advocating tax incentives, now in House Bill 801, for such employers, to ease the challenges associated with supporting their reservist’s service.
Over my time in the National Guard we have seen some great achievements. One is early retirement for qualified active-duty time. This enables reservists to qualify for retirement pay as early as age 50, still well beyond the age at which most active-duty servicemembers receive their retirement pay. This is an incentive that shows the appreciation of our country for the dedication of the reserve components. And while reservists cannot now receive retirement health care until age 60, there is pending legislation that would fix this issue, House Bill 5169.
Having served in our military for over 22 years, with eight deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as an Army Ranger and National Guardsman, I’ve seen first-hand how the Guard and Reserve are undervalued and their needs misunderstood (for example, health care needs of the reserves). To the tune of a million deployed servicemembers since 9/11, these patriots have stood ready to leave all they love, to serve in harm’s way. More than 1,200 have made the ultimate sacrifice doing so. Our nation will continue to rely on them to augment an undersized active force; we must ensure they are ready in all respects.
I have seen in the harshest environments how well the Reserve and National Guard perform. They are an indispensable part of America’s total military force; they get the job done, standing shoulder to shoulder with their active duty counterparts. They have earned the conditions necessary to ensure their full readiness.
The mark of good leaders is leaving their units and troops better than when they arrived. With a year’s experience at ROA, I can say that this organization, founded by combat veterans of World War I in 1922 for the sole purpose of ensuring a strong military, strives with great success to achieve precisely that effect for the readiness of our nation’s reserve force. It is a privilege to be part of that effort.
Kevin Hollinger is the legislative director of ROA, dba Reserve Organization of America, open to all ranks and promoting a strong, ready reserve force. He is a sergeant first class in the Army National Guard. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau, or the U.S. government.