Group issues report critical of Alaska National Guard

Group issues report critical of Alaska National Guard

by Channel 2 News staff
Sunday, October 12, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A report by a nonpartisan veterans' group is criticizing the on-going deployments of the Alaska National Guard to Iraq and Afghanistan.

A report released by the Washington-based Veterans for America says the Guard has been deployed without having proper programs in place to care for the returning troops, and is blaming the issue on "inadequate leadership."

The group is critical of the lack of access to health care for soldiers.

As of 2007, 80 percent of the Alaska National Guard had been deployed overseas since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

VFA Report

by VFA on Oct 1, 2008
The post-deployment challenges facing Alaska’s Army National Guard are more daunting and widespread than any seen by Veterans for America (VFA).

VFA’s National Guard Program just completed a week in the state reviewing the needs of Alaska’s citizen-Soldiers and the resources in place to meet them. The needs of Alaska’s Guard members and their families far outstrip the available help.

Many of the Alaska’s Guard members have been deployed, and redeployed, despite the shortage of care and treatment available upon their return. With more than one-quarter of Alaska’s Guard members living 60 miles or more from a Veterans Affairs facility, many rarely if ever get treatment they need. Travel to Anchorage alone can cost more than $1,500 for each Guard member - an upfront cost too burdensome for many to shoulder, even if they are eventually reimbursed. With the economy worsening, the costs to Guard families for their own healthcare will mount and even fewer will receive treatment.

We owe our citizen-Soldiers better than this.

VFA looks forward to continuing our work with the leaders in Alaska, and in Washington, D.C., to ensure that the members of the Alaska National Guard and their families receive the support their sacrifice merits.

Read our findings

*For more information or interviews, please contact Adrienne Willis, Director of Communications at 202-557-7509 or by email at awillis@veteransforamerica.org

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