We headed down to New Ulm and Mankato yesterday for the pair of meetings on veterans issues. The forum in New Ulm was well-attended, with about 45 vets there to ask questions. Some of the most interesting question had to do with the special needs of rural vets.
One man asked why he couldn't get the routing care he needs from his local doctor, rather than having to travel 180 miles round trip to the hospital in the Cities. Good question. While many policymakers favor some shifting of vets care to local providers, the concern is that the VA's research and care for the special needs of vets will be underfunded. Striking the right balance--and not letting the problem become an excuse for underfunding veterans' care--is at the heart of the dilemma.
The local veterans' service officer also asked that a census of veterans be taken. While he lives in Nicollet County, his zip code is New Ulm, so he gets counted among Brown County's vets. Moreover, only vets who have applied for benefits are counted under the current system. An accurate census counting all vets would help allocate and plan for both current and future needs.
The New Ulm Journal reports on the meeting here.
We then dashed to Minnesota State at Mankato to listen to three Minnesota National Guard sergeants and Iraq War veterans talk about their needs as returning warriors. The press conference has gotten some good and well deserved coverage. We had a chance to talk afterward with the vets and thank them for their service; we had written about Adam and Ryan Marti while they were still serving in Iraq.
These guys--and Ryan's wife Marianne--were pretty impressive people, the sort we'd feel confident getting our back in Baghdad or Blue Earth. Adam (now Marti-Rock) received a lot of attention when he proposed to Heather at a Twins game via satellite while serving in Iraq. He and his brothers in arms talked about the difficulties and delays in getting their educational benefits. This situation makes us pretty mad; America promised them benefits in exchange for their service and we'd better deliver.
Some excellent press coverage from KARE-11's Joe Fryer in Soldiers reflect on life after the Iraq War and KEYC-TV in Locals Mark 5th Anniversary of Iraq War.
We'll have some pictures late and a news digest later in the day.
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