Sen. Lisa Murkowski has cosponsored an amendment with Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold to make sure that reserve troops who serve overseas get the health care they need when they return home. In Alaska, that means that Guard members who were called to active duty can stay on active duty while they get medical treatment. That way they receive at least their regular pay while issues like temporary disability and the extent of their injuries are worked out.
Just as important for Alaskans, the amendment allows Alaska Guard members to be treated at military medical facilities in Alaska. The experience of members of the Alaska Army National Guard's 297th Support Battalion prompted that provision. Troops said they were told that if they reported physical, mental or psychological problems they'd be sent to military hospitals in the southeast United States. Otherwise, they could get on a bus at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss., and begin the trip home to Alaska.
Get care or go home.
The amendment would allow troops to get care and go home.
Finally, the amendment encourages -- though it does not require -- the military to cover reasonable travel costs and other expenses for those Alaskans who live well off the road system and must travel to Anchorage or Fairbanks for care.
The amendment, part of the defense reauthorization, must still survive a House-Senate conference committee -- and its value on the ground to Alaskans will depend on how it's applied. But the intent is clear and good.
BOTTOM LINE: Let's make sure Alaskans called to military duty don't come home without care.