soldier

Share This Page Slashdot Del.icio.us Google Digg Reddit Newsvine Furl Yahoo Facebook

Washington, Oct 5 - Iowa Congressman Tom Latham will receive the Minuteman of the Year Award for his contributions to national security and his legislative efforts on behalf of America’s National Guard and Reserve members, the Reserve Officers Association announced on Tuesday.

“The ROA Minuteman of the Year Award truly is one of the greatest honors I’ve received during my service to Iowans in Congress,” Congressman Latham said. “I extend my gratitude to the Reserve Officers Association for all the tireless and important advocacy work they do for our citizen-soldiers.  But most importantly, I want to thank the men and women of our armed services who, along with their families, have sacrificed so much for our country and freedom’s cause.  Their heroism is an inspiration for every American.”

Congressman Latham will receive the award and speak at the Reserve Officer Association’s National Security Symposium, which will be held Jan. 31 in Washington, D.C.  The Minuteman of the Year Award has been presented annually since 1958 to “The citizen who has contributed most to National Security during these times."  Previous winners include President Gerald Ford, President Ronald Reagan and Senators Robert Byrd and John McCain.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates wond the award in 2009.

The ROA cited several of Congressman Latham’s legislative initiatives in the current 111th Congress in recognizing him with the Minuteman of the Year Award.  The organization praised a bill he introduced to eliminate an unintended technical restriction that has kept some Guard and Reserve soldiers from receiving full retirement credit for time spent on deployment.  The ROA also mentioned proposals supported by Latham to extend TRICARE coverage to additional Reserve retirees and to allow veterans to use their VA health benefits at local health care facilities outside of the VA system.

Congressman Latham has a long history of legislative advocacy for the National Guard and Reserve.  In previous Congresses, Latham authored and led bipartisan efforts to pass the Guard and Reserve Readiness Retention Act, which now allows all Guard and Reserve members to purchase military health coverage for their families under the TRICARE Reserve Select program on a continuous basis, and the National Guard and Reserve Retirement Modernization Act to overhaul reserve retirement. In addition, he led the charge to increase funding and research on treating war injuries to the extremities suffered by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and has supported appropriations legislation that more than doubled funding for VA medical care since 2001.

The Reserve Officers Association is the 60,000-member professional association for all
uniformed services of the United States. Chartered by Congress and in existence since 1922, ROA advises and educates the Congress, the President, and the American people on national security, with unique expertise on issues that affect the 1.5 million men and women now serving in America’s Reserve Components.