Introduction

Chairman Hall, Ranking Member Lamborn and distinguished members of the subcommittee, on behalf of Chief of the National Guard Bureau, H Steven Blum, I am here to testify before on the effectiveness of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s outreach efforts.  I greatly appreciate your commitment to veterans and current members of the Armed Services and am grateful for the chance to testify regarding veterans outreach for the National Guard. 

In the National Guard, we recognize that our people are our most valuable resource.  Accordingly, we understand the importance of assuring that our Soldiers and Airmen returning from deployments receive the support they need to continue to serve in the National Guard and effectively transition to civilian life.

NGB Interactions with the Veterans Benefits Administration.

In the fall of 2004, LTG Blum met with the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a strategy to support National Guard members who had been deployed.  As a result a working group was established that developed a memorandum of agreement which was signed by LTG Blum and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Under Secretary for Benefits and Under Secretary for Health.  In addition to the national memorandum of agreement, 48 states and territories have signed local memorandum of understandings that include the Regional Veterans Benefits Administration offices.

Since May 2005, 62 National Guard Transition Assistance Advisors have been jointly trained by the National Guard and Department of Veterans Affairs.  Transition Assistance Advisors work at the State Joint Force Headquarters and are responsible for educating National Guard members and their families on Veterans benefits.  Transition Assistance Advisors also act as a conduit between the National Guard and local Veterans Affairs personnel.  Of the 62 Transition Assistance Advisors 57 are Veterans, 30 of which are disabled Veterans, and the remaining Transition Assistance Advisors are spouses of active National Guard members.

 The Transition Assistance Advisor initial training was held in February 2006 at the Veterans Benefits Administration Training Academy in Baltimore.  This training was conducted jointly between the National Guard Bureau and the Department of Veterans Affairs and covered basic information on all Veterans Benefit Administration programs preparing Transition Assistance Advisors to act as an advocate for National Guard members and a liaison to the Department of Veterans Affairs.   

Since that initial training, the National Guard Bureau and Department of Veterans Affairs have conducted annual refresher training that includes representatives from the Veterans Benefit Administration, Veterans Health Administration, and State Directors of Veterans Affairs.  Annual training is supplemented by monthly phone calls jointly hosted by the National Guard Bureau and Veterans Affairs Central Office with representatives from the Veterans Benefits Administration on-call to answer questions.  This training is further supported by a jointly written and published Transition Assistance Advisor quarterly newsletter that includes up-to-date information on Veterans Benefit Administration issues.  We were pleased in January 2008 when the State Directors of Veterans Affairs also joined our newsletter to continue to emphasizing state benefits.

What the National Guard is doing to assure returning service members know about their VA Benefits.

When National Guard members return from an overseas deployment, they learn about Veterans benefits available to them through various means.  These include briefings during the demobilization process, state reintegration programs, post deployment health reassessments, and numerous other state sponsored events.  We believe that the most effective briefings are those delivered locally.  First, it allows National Guard members to follow up with the same individuals who briefed them.  Second, it allows family members to be present, and we find that Guard families play a pivotal role in the education of our Airmen and Soldiers.  Families also play a key role in National Guard members following through on applying for health benefits.

At the National Guard Bureau, we continue to educate our Transitional Assistance Advisors and National Guard leadership on Veterans benefits.  Additionally, in April 2008, we published our first Warrior Support newsletter that is specifically directed at the benefits of National Guard members.  This newsletter is distributed through the local Transition Assistance Advisors who add local contact information. 

Each month, Transition Assistance Advisors submit a monthly report.  At the request of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in January 2008, the report was modified to include referral information to the Veterans Benefit Administration, Veterans Health Administration and Vet Centers.  This information will be used by the National Guard Bureau and Department of Veterans Affairs to measure the effectiveness of our education and outreach programs and to make modifications and improvements where necessary.

Best practices in the states or at NGB for reintegration of returning service members that we have seen.

There are numerous examples where the National Guard has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs at the local level to deliver innovative programs that educate National Guard members.  We believe the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon initiative will continue to improve the collaboration between local National Guard and Department of Veteran Affairs personnel.

Conclusion

Few areas, if any, are more important to the National Guard Bureau as veterans outreach programs.  We have appreciated the support we have received from the Department of Veterans Affair, and we thank them for their service to all Veterans.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss these important matters with Congress and I look forward to working with your committees to ensure that these programs remain robust.  I would like to thank the committee for its continued support of the men and women of the Armed Forces.