Statement of
Deborah Kline Fryar
Deputy Director, Government Relations
National Military Family Association
Alexandria, Virginia
July 27, 2005
The National Military Family Association (NMFA) is the only national
organization whose sole focus is the military family and whose goal is
to influence the development and implementation of policies that will
improve the lives of those family members. Our mission is to serve the
families of the seven uniformed services through education, information
and advocacy.
Founded in 1969 as the Military Wives Association, NMFA is a non-profit
501(c)(3) primarily volunteer organization. NMFA today represents the
interests of family members and the active duty, National Guard,
Reserve, and retired personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
NMFA volunteer Representatives in military communities worldwide provide
a direct link between military families and NMFA’s staff in the nation’s
capital. Representatives are the “eyes and ears” of NMFA, bringing
shared local concerns to national attention.
NMFA receives no federal grants and has no federal contracts.
NMFA’s web site is located at http://www.nmfa.org.
Deborah Kline Fryar, Deputy Director, Government Relations
Ms. Fryar was hired as Deputy Director of Government Relations for the
National Military Family Association (NMFA) in March 2004. In that
position, she monitors issues relevant to the quality of life of
families of the uniformed services and represents the Association at
briefings and other meetings. She began as a volunteer with the
Association in 1996 after being appointed as an NMFA Representative for
Kaiserslautern, Germany and continued her service in Stuttgart, Germany,
and Fort Lewis Washington. She was appointed to the NMFA Professional
Development Program Committee (PDP) in May 2002. Ms. Fryar currently
serves on the Congressionally-mandated Department of Defense Beneficiary
Advisory Panel for the Uniform Formulary, which is a Federal Advisory
Panel. She serves on The Military Coalition’s Veterans and Health Care
Committees. Additionally, she represents military families on the Navy
Force Management Oversight Committee (FMOC) Working Group of the Injured
Marines and Sailors Program.
A Texas transplant, Ms. Fryar earned a B.S. in Nursing from West Texas
A&M University in Canyon, Texas. She has spent the past sixteen years as
a military spouse. One of the most important parts of her life is her
active duty husband, Ron, who is also a strong advocate of military
families. She has been involved at all levels of family programs to
include being a Core Instructor and Master Trainer for Army Family Team
Building. Ms. Fryar has been involved in a myriad of other volunteer
family programs to include Health Services Auxiliaries at various
military hospitals, American Red Cross, Army Family Action Plan (AFAP),
Marines’ Toys for Tots, Compassionate Ministries, Ladies Ministries and
a Military and Uniformed Services Support Group at her church.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Wounded Servicemembers
Have Wounded Families
NMFA asserts that behind every wounded servicemember is a wounded
family. NMFA believes that support for the wounded/injured in today's
conflict must take a more inclusive view of military families. That view
cannot include just the spouse and the children.
Who are the Families of Wounded Servicemembers?
In the past, most benefit programs offered by the Department of Defense
(DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have regarded a
servicemember’s family as only his/her spouse and children. Now,
however, it is not unusual to see the parents and siblings of a single
servicemember presented as part of the servicemember’s family unit.
Almost 50 percent of the force is single today. As more single
servicemembers are wounded, their parents and siblings must take on the
task of helping their son, daughter, brother, or sister through the
recovery process. To serve all wounded/injured servicemembers, we must
also provide support to the parents of single servicemembers and their
siblings as well.
Adaptive Housing Assistance
Many families are spending much of their own money to pay for needed
housing modifications, often taking out personal loans to pay for these
adaptations. NMFA supports an increase to the amount of assistance for
specially adapted housing. We also support adaptive housing assistance
for disabled veterans residing temporarily in housing owned by a parent
or sibling. Additionally NMFA recommends that Congress consider
extending the Adaptive Housing Benefit to a multi-use benefit up to the
limit provided in law.
Transition to VA
The transition between the DoD and the VA health system can be confusing
for servicemembers and their families. Transition time lines and
available services extended to wounded servicemembers sometimes vary by
Service. NMFA is concerned that servicemembers in the transition to
private sector employment continue to face challenges. NMFA supports the
establishment of professional qualifications for disabled veterans’
outreach program specialists and local veterans’ employment
representatives.
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this Subcommittee, the
National Military Family Association (NMFA) appreciates your interest in
the families of veterans, especially the families of servicemembers who
have been disabled and injured. We are grateful to the Subcommittee for
this opportunity to express our views concerning the needs of those
families and to comment on the proposed legislation under discussion
today. NMFA is concerned that servicemembers in the transition to
private sector employment continue to face challenges. Of prime
importance is the translation of military training skills. We also hear
that some employment representatives hired to counsel wounded
servicemembers are not experienced. Additionally, families have told us
that more needs to be done to help financially during the
servicemember’s recovery time and transit to the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).
NMFA appreciates your leadership and sensitivity in addressing the
financial requirements and needs for increases in adaptive housing. The
proposal to provide adaptive housing assistance for disabled veterans
residing temporarily in housing owned by parents or siblings is critical
to the families of single servicemembers. Likewise, the proposed
increases in the amount of assistance for certain disabled veterans for
specially adapted housing would be invaluable in keeping pace with
today’s increased construction costs, and would help alleviate some of
the expenses that are often incurred by the families of wounded single
servicemembers. Your insight to increases in adaptive housing and
awareness of the need to hire professional individuals who are qualified
to work as local veterans’ employment representatives will go a long way
in assisting wounded servicemembers in coming years.
Since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), there have
been 13,189 U.S. servicemembers Wounded in Action (WIA) (Washington
Headquarters Service Defense Manpower Data Center, Statistical
Information Analysis Division, June 30, 2005). That number increases
almost daily. Of the total number of servicemembers wounded to date,
61.5 percent have been E-4 and below and almost 50 percent are under the
age of 25. The force that is being wounded/injured today is a young
force. In recent Congressional testimony, Major Tammy Duckworth, a
wounded servicemember, stated "…as I look around at the other wounded
Soldiers, it is clear that the majority of them are young with long
lives ahead of them. Whether we will continue to have the honor of
serving in uniform, or return to productive civilian lives, we will
require continued access to high quality VA services as we age. The VA
will need to support this need over the long term as currently wounded
Soldiers will be accessing its programs over a lifetime” NMFA believes
that it is imperative that a comprehensive system be in place not just
to support wounded and injured veterans but also their families over the
long term.
In this statement, NMFA will address issues related to families of
servicemembers in the following subject areas:
• Wounded Servicemembers Have Wounded Families
• Who Are the Families of Wounded Servicemembers?
• Adaptive Housing Assistance
• Transition to VA
Wounded Servicemembers Have Wounded Families
NMFA asserts that behind every wounded servicemember is a wounded
family. Spouses, children, parents, and siblings of servicemembers
injured defending our country experience many uncertainties. Fear of the
unknown and what lies ahead in the weeks, months, and even years, weighs
heavily on their minds. Other concerns include the injured
servicemember’s return and reunion with their family, financial
stresses, and navigating the transition process to the VA. It is NMFA’s
belief that, when designing support for the wounded/injured in today's
conflict, the government, especially the VA, must take a more inclusive
view of military families. That view cannot include just the spouse and
the children. To serve all wounded/injured servicemembers, we must also
provide support to the parents of single servicemembers and their
siblings as well.
Who are the Families of Wounded Servicemembers?
In the past, the VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) have generally
focused their benefit packages for a servicemember’s family on his/her
spouse and children. Now, however, it is not unusual to see the parents
and siblings of a single servicemember presented as part of the
servicemember’s family unit. In both the active and reserve components,
almost 50 percent of the force is single. Having an injured or wounded
servicemember is new territory for family units. Regardless if the
servicemember is married or single, their families will be affected in
some way by the injury. As more single servicemembers are wounded, more
parents and siblings must take on the task of helping their son,
daughter, brother, or sister, through the recovery process. Most parents
and siblings are thankful their servicemember survived and for the
outstanding medical care their servicemember is receiving; however, the
burden of care can be overwhelming.
Military units and family readiness groups have been forced to
communicate with parents during deployments because parents expect to be
included in information about their deployed children. When that single
servicemember is injured, the parent(s) are taking time off their jobs
or even quitting their jobs to travel to Walter Reed Army Medical Center
or the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda to be with and care for
their child. They are the ones driving the servicemember to therapy,
learning how to care for their wounds, and watching for signs of
physical setbacks or some sort of mental illness during the recovery.
Because the severely injured single servicemember cannot be on their
own, there is only one place they can go when they leave the hospital:
back to Mom and Dad. NMFA has heard of some married servicemembers,
their spouses and small children going back to live with their parents
for a short time following their hospitalization. The proposed bill this
Subcommittee is reviewing to expand the support for adaptive housing to
parents of these servicemembers recognizes the role parents are assuming
as caregivers for our severely injured heroes, especially in the period
immediately after their release from the hospitals.
Adaptive Housing Assistance
When wounded servicemembers go home to recuperate in the homes of their
parents and siblings, their families are spending much of their own
money to pay for needed modifications, often taking out personal loans
to pay for necessary housing adaptations. Whether installing wheelchair
ramps, adapting bathrooms with handicap accessories, redoing floors,
widening doors and hallways, installing handrails and specialized
Braille products, or hiring electricians and plumbers, the costs for
making these adaptations is expensive for these families. Caring for the
injured/wounded in their homes during their recovery time, these
families forgo their own lives for the needs of their wounded child or
sibling.
Immediate and long term financial pressures affect the family of every
wounded/injured servicemember. The initial hospitalization and recovery
period often requires the servicemembers’ family to leave work for an
extended period of time in order to be with their loved one, thus
potentially losing a source of income and incurring tremendous travel
expenses, child care costs and other unexpected living expenses. The
added home renovation/construction costs often are necessary at a time
when the family can least afford these expenses. Faced with the imminent
arrival of the servicemember home from the hospital, families feel they
must make the renovations—regardless of their ability to pay—in order to
ease the recovery of their child. One injured servicemember’s parents,
who had to abandon their jobs to care for their wounded son, voiced a
concern that they didn’t know how families who depended on two incomes
could quit their jobs to take care of their disabled son or daughter.
Another servicemember’s parents said he and his wife are pleased with
the medical care their son received, but the military needs to take a
look at the assistance provided to parents of wounded servicemembers.
The increased financial burden placed on families of wounded
servicemembers to pay out of pocket for housing adaptations requires
immediate attention.
NMFA supports an increase to the amount of assistance to specially
adapted housing. We also support adaptive housing assistance for
disabled veterans residing temporarily in housing owned by a parent or
sibling.
Currently, severely disabled servicemembers are eligible for a one time
only use Adaptive Housing through the VA. While this is a noteworthy
benefit, the problem is that the modification is a “one-time” use
benefit and funds not used initially cannot be reserved for use at a
later time. NMFA would like to see the benefit be converted to a
multi-use benefit where the balance could be carried over. Since many of
the severely injured troops return to their parents’ homes before
subsequently moving to their own homes, they would benefit from the
opportunity to carry over any unused portion of the allowance.
NMFA recommends that Congress consider extending the Adaptive Housing
Benefit to a multi-use benefit up to the limit provided in law.
Transition to the VA
The transition between the DoD and the VA health system can be confusing
for servicemembers and their families. Transition time lines and
available services extended to wounded servicemembers sometimes vary by
Service. The DoD and each military Service have developed unique
programs for treating seriously injured servicemembers: the Army
Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3), the Marine For Life (M4L), the
Navy Sea Warrior/ Safe Harbor, the Air Force Palace HART, and the DoD
Military Severely Injured Center. These programs have each made progress
in the delivery of information and support services for the injured and
their families. NMFA thanks the Services and the DoD for their efforts
to provide support to injured servicemembers and their families and
hopes they will continue their joint efforts. We continue to ask that
the role of the DoD and the VA be clearly explained and delineated and
joint efforts between all the Services and the VA in support of the
servicemember and family continue to be the priority.
We would ask that the DoD, VA, and Department of Labor continue joint
efforts in placing wounded servicemembers and their spouses in proper
jobs. As mentioned earlier, translation of military training skills into
everyday job terms is an important part of helping disabled veterans
placed in comparable jobs that utilize their skills. To help ensure that
servicemembers are being serviced by highly trained employment
counselors who understand the issues involved in properly placing
disabled veterans, NMFA supports the establishment of professional
qualifications for disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and
local veterans’ employment representatives.
Invisible Wounds
NMFA also realizes that visible wounds are not the only injuries
affecting military families. Many servicemembers will return with
psychological injuries manifesting as anxiety, mood disorders,
depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Wounded
servicemembers are at higher risk of developing PTSD or psychological or
emotional problems. Over time, some servicemembers may be predisposed to
alcoholism and drug abuse, unemployment, homelessness and suicide. While
these psychological injures are inflicted by the hazards and trauma of
being in a combat environment, the unfortunate reality is that the
stigma of having mental health injuries causes many individuals to
suffer silently. Psychological disorders can make the transition from
military to civilian life a harrowing one and in the process, families
can become collateral damage. NMFA asks DoD, the VA, and Congress to
remain vigilant regarding mental health issues affecting returning
servicemembers and their families.
Because “wounded servicemembers have wounded families,” NMFA recommends
the following to support wounded and injured servicemembers and their
families:
• Include parents in the definition of family when discussing the
support needs of servicemembers;
• Increase the amount of money available for adaptive housing;
• Provide adaptive housing assistance to disabled veterans residing
temporarily in housing owned by a parent or sibling;
• Establish professional qualifications for disabled veterans’ outreach
program specialists and local veterans’ employment representatives;
• Encourage continued coordination efforts between the military
Services, OSD, and the VA in support of the wounded servicemember and
family;
• Continue awareness of mental health issues affecting returning
servicemembers.
Mr. Chairman, NMFA appreciates the opportunity to raise awareness of
issues affecting wounded servicemembers’ families. We are thankful for
your leadership and sensitivity in addressing the financial requirements
and needs for increases in adaptive housing and assistance for disabled
veterans residing temporarily in housing owned by parents or siblings.
Your willingness to address the need to hire professional individuals
who are qualified to work as local veterans’ employment representatives
will go a long way in assisting wounded servicemembers for an extended
time.
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