Coffman: Transitioning military need help
A combat veteran with more than 20 years combined in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., admitted transitioning out of the military was somewhat difficult for him.
But Coffman, who has represented Colorado’s Sixth District since 2008, said the transition process is even more difficult for those leaving the military now.
“It’s much harder for most of the young men and women (now) trying to return to civilian life from the military,” Coffman told The American Legion's 97th National Convention on Sept. 2 in Baltimore. “They’re not officers. Oftentimes, they have families. I think it’s very important we utilize the Post-9/11 GI Bill, that we expand the … on-the-job training and apprenticeship training programs … where they can utilize the GI Bill to cover their living expenses.
“Let’s put our returning veterans back to work in job-training programs that pay a living wage and give our veterans the job skills that will provide them a pathway to achieving the American dream.”
Coffman, who sits on both the House Armed Services Committee and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, called for continued reform in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I think we all know that we have some very serious situations when it comes to the Department of Veterans Affairs,” he said. “Those responsible for the leadership failures in the VA must be held accountable. And the whistleblowers who have the courage to step forward must be protected.”
VA also must get out of the construction business, Coffman said.
“In April of 2013, a GAO report said, even at that time, each of the four major hospital construction projects that the VA had … were hundreds of millions of dollars over budget (and) years behind schedule,” he said. “(VA) is a health-care provider and a benefits provider to the men and women who have served this country and earned those benefits. It is not a construction-management entity. The Army Corps of Engineers is a construction-management entity. That is a core competency. The VA must be stripped of its construction authority, and that authority must be transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers.”
Coffman also said as the number of women veterans grow, so must their health-care system’s efforts to accommodate them. “The VA needs to change their health model and make it more accessible for women, with appropriate providers in the health-care system to serve the needs of our women veterans who are now 20 percent of all recruits throughout the military,” he said. “The VA health-care system does not reflect that. (It) must change to reflect the modern reality of women serving in our military.”
No matter why they are called to action, Coffman said the country owes it to members of the military to support them. He said that as support for the Vietnam War divided the country, so did support for the men and women serving in the U.S. military. Many weren’t welcomed home when they returned. “We must never do that again to any veteran returning from war to this country,” he said.