50 signatures reached
To: Congress
Guard Servicemember Care Act
Please support our petition calling on our legislators to change the law and give all service members on State Active Duty (SAD) orders the right to receive VA healthcare and to have each day of activated service to count for their retirement. The change would fairly compensate our Citizen Soldiers/Airmen for the risks taken and time spent in service to our communities when we most needed it.
Why is this important?
We all have seen the National Guard helping our communities during disasters and emergencies: fighting forest fires, rescuing victims from hurricanes and floods, protecting neighborhoods and businesses during civil unrest. This has been the focus of their recruitment and their public image, despite frequent overseas deployments to multiple war zones over the past 20 years.
Their motto, “Always Ready”, has been strained during the past year as National Guard Service Members have been called to duty by their states at historically high rates and for longer periods of time. Despite this, the National Guard Airmen and Soldiers do not qualify for Veteran Affairs healthcare or retirement credit for their service during State Active Duty call ups. State Active Duty (SAD) orders are paid for by the State do not count as duty days like federal orders for overseas deployments or work for the national COVID-19 missions.
If a Guardsmen is hurt on SAD orders, it is treated as a workmen compensation claim and no lasting injury is treated by the VA. This has the effect of treating Guardsmen like temporary contract workers rather than as the military members they are. Instead, time spent on SAD orders should be treated as service days that count towards retirement.
This proposed change would give Guardsmen who serve at least a 3-year contract with at least one SAD order the right to receive the designation of a Veteran eligible for VA healthcare once discharged from the Guard. Receiving VA Healthcare would help these Veterans receive the mental and physical health care as well as other VA services that federally deployed Guardsmen receive. Each day of SAD order would count towards a “good year” for retirement. A Guard member’s retirement at 60 years of age depends on both the total number of days served and the highest rank in uniform that they held.
Please support our petition calling on our legislators to change the law and give all service members on SAD orders the right to receive VA healthcare and to have each day of activated service to count for their retirement. The change would fairly compensate our Citizen Soldiers/Airmen for the risks taken and time spent in service to our communities when we most needed it.
Their motto, “Always Ready”, has been strained during the past year as National Guard Service Members have been called to duty by their states at historically high rates and for longer periods of time. Despite this, the National Guard Airmen and Soldiers do not qualify for Veteran Affairs healthcare or retirement credit for their service during State Active Duty call ups. State Active Duty (SAD) orders are paid for by the State do not count as duty days like federal orders for overseas deployments or work for the national COVID-19 missions.
If a Guardsmen is hurt on SAD orders, it is treated as a workmen compensation claim and no lasting injury is treated by the VA. This has the effect of treating Guardsmen like temporary contract workers rather than as the military members they are. Instead, time spent on SAD orders should be treated as service days that count towards retirement.
This proposed change would give Guardsmen who serve at least a 3-year contract with at least one SAD order the right to receive the designation of a Veteran eligible for VA healthcare once discharged from the Guard. Receiving VA Healthcare would help these Veterans receive the mental and physical health care as well as other VA services that federally deployed Guardsmen receive. Each day of SAD order would count towards a “good year” for retirement. A Guard member’s retirement at 60 years of age depends on both the total number of days served and the highest rank in uniform that they held.
Please support our petition calling on our legislators to change the law and give all service members on SAD orders the right to receive VA healthcare and to have each day of activated service to count for their retirement. The change would fairly compensate our Citizen Soldiers/Airmen for the risks taken and time spent in service to our communities when we most needed it.