Protecting our Servicemembers

Protecting our Servicemembers

I grew up in a military family and know the challenges and hardships that come with military service.  As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have made it one of my top priorities to meet with our troops, both on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan and those back home. Since first being elected to Congress in 2007, I have made three trips to Afghanistan and two to Iraq, and each time I have been moved by the professionalism, dedication and skill of our armed forces.  As our servicemembers continue to fight for our freedoms and to defend this great nation, I will continue to fight for laws that better protect and support them, their families, and our veterans.  

I have made protecting our troops, both when they are serving in harm’s way and when returning home, one of my highest priorities.  The men and women of our armed forces make up the most effective and professional military in the world and their selfless dedication to defending our nation is something we can never take for granted.  That is why I have worked hard to introduce legislation to ensure our servicemembers have the resources they need, the protection they deserve, and the best care and services we can provide.

Protecting our servicemembers with light weight body armor.  I have visited servicemembers in both Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times.  These visits offer me the invaluable experience of hearing directly from those who are on the front lines, risking so much every day.  Servicemembers have repeatedly expressed the need to reduce the weight of the equipment they carry, especially their body armor.  Major Chris Gramstorff, of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, explained, ‘every ounce you can take off Soldiers equipment without sacrificing protection is a godsend, especially when operating in challenging geographic locations such as Afghanistan.”  Military leaders, including Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli, have reported that the number of soldiers with musculoskeletal injuries from routinely carrying 100-150 pounds of equipment is increasing.  But even more alarming, I’ve heard testimony from servicemembers who remove their body armor in combat because it is too heavy.        

This is why I have championed legislation to reduce the weight of body armor while maintaining adequate levels of protection for our military.   My initiatives aim to better meet the needs of our deployed troops, and to provide them with the protective equipment they require while keeping them injury free.  Last year, I introduced legislation to accelerate the development of lighter weight body armor by creating the necessary funding accounts for research, development and procurement.   My provision, which was signed into law with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010, also increased accountability of how funds are used to develop and buy lighter body armor, making the system more transparent and adaptable to the needs of the soldier.  This year, I introduced another bill to build on what I was able to accomplish last year, The Light Weight Armor Research Requirements for Individual Operational Readiness Act (LT WARRIOR Act).  This legislation, passed by the House in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, directs a federally funded research and development center study to accelerate technology development for light weight body armor solutions in order to get new equipment to the field as quickly as possible.  I will work hard to ensure this provision becomes law.  If we are going to put our troops in harm’s way, we must do everything we can to ensure they are protected.

Protecting servicemembers from sexual assault in the military.  We continually ask our servicemen and women to put their lives on the line for our country, and they should not have to fear being sexually assaulted while performing their duties.  Yet reported incidents of sexual assault in the military have increased in recent years and the Department of Defense estimates that the increase only reflects one tenth of the actually number of sexual assaults.  These sad statistics are unfortunately reinforced by many conversations I have had with servicemembers who say that sexual assault in the military is a crime that often goes unseen, and that the voices of its victims go unheard.  I introduced the Defense Sexual Trauma Response, Oversight, and Good Governance Act (The Defense STRONG Act) in order to expand the legal rights of servicemembers who have been victims of sexual assault and to improve and strength prevention efforts within the Department of Defense.  This bipartisan legislation, passed by the House in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, includes provisions to allow victims guaranteed access to legal counsel, maintain confidentiality when speaking with Victim Advocates, and provide greater training for sexual assault prevention at every level of the Armed Services.  Anuradha Bhagwati, Executive Director of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) explains: “the Defense STRONG Act will assist countless servicemembers who experience the horror of sexual assault in uniform by guaranteeing access to legal counsel and standardizing training and professionalizing the billets designed to support survivors.”

Additional materials from the sexual assault support services at the Department of Defense can be found here.  

Increasing military readiness through improved health care.  As a member of the Armed Services committee, I am very involved in oversight of the Military Health System.  As more and more reserve servicemembers are called to serve on active duty, we must ensure they have timely access to quality health care.  Timely access depends on the military’s ability to recruit and retain health care professionals, both on active duty and in the reserves.  One of the first pieces of legislation I introduced in the 110^th Congress that was signed into law was to increase professional loan repayment programs for health care professionals in the reserve component of the Armed Forces.  Previously, reserve health care professionals did not have access to the same loan repayment levels as active duty health care professionals.  Yet more and more reservists and National Guard servicemembers are answering the call to active duty and deploying alongside their active duty counterparts.  Ensuring our reserve forces have adequate numbers of doctors, nurses, mental health professionals to support increased deployments is critical to military readiness. 

Building on my efforts to ensure our reserve and National Guard servicemembers have access to military health care, I introduced legislation to help reserve and National Guard servicemembers get treatment and medical care early enough to ensure they are medically ready to deploy.  My legislation, which was signed into law in the Defense Authorization Act of 2010, increases early access to TRICARE for National Guard and reservists who are called up to active duty from 90 days to 180 days.  This law provides sufficient time for servicemembers to seek needed medical care, schedule minor surgeries, or resolve other conditions that could easily be addressed given the additional time to access services.  The National Guard Association’s Deputy Director of Legislative Programs, Peter Duffy, explains, “the current 90 day period has proven to be inadequate to correct medical and dental readiness deficiencies which can cause significant hardships to units who lose key personnel who are rendered nondeployable for conditions that could have been addressed….”  Expanding access to 180 days prior to coming onto active duty allows enough time for treatable conditions to be addressed and improves military and soldier readiness.

I also introduced legislation to ensure that no gaps in health care service and coverage exist for our women serving in the Armed Forces.  The Women’s Excellence of Care and Accessibility Review and Evaluation Act (WE CARE Act) directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive review of women-specific health services and treatments for female servicemembers.  The rapidly growing number of women serving in the military and reports that women servicemembers do not have the same access to health care services as their civilian counterparts have highlighted the need for a more comprehensive assessment of women’s health care within the Department of Defense.   The comprehensive review will evaluate the availability, efficacy and accessibility of women specific medical care, including gynecological services, breast and cervical cancer services, and preventative and mental health services.  Amy Allina of the National Women’s Health Network highlights:  “In this year, when Congress passed historic legislation to improve health access and quality, it’s time that we also take action to identify and remedy the health care gaps that undermine the health and well-being of women in the armed forces – whether that’s basic reproductive health services, a cancer screening test, or treatment for sexual assault.  The comprehensive review of health services and treatment for women in the armed forces proposed by Congresswoman Tsongas is a first, and important, step toward that goal.”