Walz: Army Leadership Sending Team to Minnesota

Press Release

WALZ: ARMY LEADERSHIP SENDING TEAM TO MINNESOTA

ARMY EXPERTS TRAVELING TO MINNESOTA TO HELP GUARD MEMBERS RECEIVE GI BILL BENEFITS THEY WERE DENIED

Speaking about TBI centers

Washington, Oct 10 - Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced that General Richard Cody, the U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff, has agreed to send a team to Minnesota this week to further address and continue to rectify the situation that has caused members of the 1/34th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) of the Army National Guard to be denied full GI Bill education benefits they earned during their 22-month deployment to Iraq.

The Army has committed to work toward resolving the issue in time for soldiers to plan and register for the upcoming semester. Walz said that a team of Army experts is prepared to travel to Minnesota this week to assist members of the 1st BCT, and that the Minnesota National Guard is currently making arrangements to ensure the team is composed of personnel with expertise appropriate to expedite the processing of the required paperwork.

Col. Eric Ahlness, Director of Government Relations for the Minnesota National Guard said, "We sincerely appreciate the energy and commitment that Congressman Walz and the other members of the Minnesota delegation have demonstrated in their efforts to resolve this issue. We are hopeful that the team dispatched in the coming days will assist us in expediting the paperwork required to correct the benefits discrepancy for each of the affected soldiers."

Walz, a former Command Sgt. Major with the 1st BCT, said that General Cody made the commitment to House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Murtha during a phone call Representative Murtha placed at Walz's request.

Chairman Murtha spoke with Secretary Geren last week about the same issue, but Congressman Walz and other members of the Minnesota delegation were concerned that the Army was not moving quickly enough to provide full benefits to the 1/34th BCT.

Congressman Walz, who has worked closely with fellow Minnesota Representatives Collin Peterson and Betty McCollum on this issue, pushed for the Army to send representatives to Minnesota to actually assist individual soldiers and the Minnesota National Guard in person.

"Soldiers who have just returned home from a record-long 22-month deployment to Iraq shouldn't have to wrestle with paperwork to get the benefits they were promised," Walz said. "I'm pleased that a team of Army experts will be on-site in Minnesota to help rectify this situation."

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