Letter: To Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense

Letter

Letter: To Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense

Dear Secretary Gates,

I am writing to urge you to take immediate steps to ensure our returning veterans are fully informed about the benefits they have earned and deserve.

A constituent recently informed me that National Guard and Reservists completing their war duties are being misinformed that they will lose their military education benefits if they stop drilling with their units upon returning home. I understand this is a problem across the country and I am greatly concerned that thousands of brave men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have either not been paid if they attended school or, worse yet, did not attend school because they were told they do not have access to these educational benefits.

As you know, federal law enacted in 2005 makes National Guard and Reservists returning home from a war zone eligible for GI Bill educational benefits similar to those afforded to active duty troops. Specifically, upon discharge from their drilling duties, these individuals can revert back to the original Reserve GI Bill to receive educational entitlements from that law for the time they were deployed plus an additional four months.

Unfortunately, the Department of Defense seems to be inadequately implementing the law, failing to educate military unit leaders and school veterans' counselors about the legal rights of these returning National Guard and Reservists. I am deeply troubled by your department's failure to effectively inform these returning veterans of the benefits they are due.

Following these revelations, the Department of Veterans Affairs took corrective action by including accurate information on its website informing National Guard and Reservists of their eligibility. Your department, however, has thus far failed to take any action to rectify this situation.

The status quo is simply not acceptable. I strongly encourage you to take steps above and beyond those already taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Most importantly, I believe the Department of Defense ought to ensure that National Guard and Reserve educational counselors across our nation are notified of these veterans' legal entitlements.

In addition, I would also like to know the current number of eligible National Guard and Reservists who have taken advantage of this benefit and how you plan to notify those who were potentially discharged with incorrect information.

I know that we share the common goal of ensuring that our nation's service members and their families receive the educational services they need and deserve. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response.

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