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 Reserve units be engage 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 Reserve 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 unit 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 families and put themselves in harms way in order to protect our nation. We have a moral obligation to take care of them when they come back home.