VA Loan Updates

WASHINGTON — The state’s citizen soldiers are prepared, if not apprehensive, for the possibility of another deployment to Iraq, the new adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard said Thursday.

And for their service, they should at least have educational benefits comparable to their active duty colleagues, Maj. Gen. William Wofford told a congressional committee.

Wofford, who officially took command a week ago, said he does not know when or if the 39th Infantry Brigade will be activated for its second tour to the Middle East.

That has caused at least some worry in the state, where already 85 percent of Guard troops have been activated since Sept. 11, 2001.

“Apprehension is probably a better word, because rumors kill us,” Wofford said. “If they know that it’s a definite yes or a definite no, they’re better off.”

Medical, transportation and military police units in Arkansas could also potentially be called up for another deployment to Iraq, he said. The 39th was in Iraq in 2004.

“That’s a decision that’s made well above the state level and it could be any time. It could be six months, could be a year from now,” Wofford said. “The sooner we get notification, the better off we’ll be.”

More than 8,500 Arkansans have been called to active duty in the last five years, including 2,000 who have volunteered for more than one rotation.

Wofford told members of a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee that many of those soldiers have the right to better educational benefits.

U.S. Reps. John Boozman, R-Rogers, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, have sponsored legislation that gives Guard and reserve troops up to 10 years after discharge to use their GI Bill benefits.

Currently, nonactive troops lose the chance for educational subsidies and loans after they retire from service.

The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs oppose the bill, fearing it would hurt Guard and Reserve retention efforts.

“We adversely affect retention by offering a post-service benefit that is more attractive than the benefit available to those who remain in the force,” said Craig Duehring, a deputy assistant secretary of defense.

Wofford said the real harm would be to people like Sgt. Jason Bowen of Springdale, who deployed with the 39th in 2004, then volunteered to go to Iraq with another unit just five months after his return.

Bowen spent 24 months in a combat zone, Wofford said. He has since left the Guard.

“I think that it is extremely unfair that by getting out of the Guard he will lose his GI bill education benefits, unlike the active component counterparts that he served with, side by side, during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” he said.

The benefit disparity is difficult to explain to Guard members and their families, he added.

Snyder has said the current policy harms those whose education has been interrupted by repeated active-duty call-ups.

The American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America and other service-related groups support a change to the GI bill.

Also Thursday, Boozman said he hoped the VA will take quick action to repair maintenance problems at veterans hospitals in Fayetteville and Little Rock.

The VA report released Thursday indicated walls and hallways were deteriorating at the Little Rock VA hospital, requiring repair and painting in 30 percent of patient areas. In Fayetteville, roof leaks and mold were reported.

VA Secretary Jim Nicholson ordered an evaluation of the agency’s 1,400 hospitals and clinics in response to the disclosure last month of poor building conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Boozman said he visited the Fayetteville facility two months ago, but did not notice any problems.

“The things that they found may be routine maintenance, plus a little bit, not anything at all that’s interfering with patient care,” Boozman said.

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