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No veterans center coming to Cochise County
By Bill Hess/Wick Communications
FORT HUACHUCA - An attempt to open a veterans care center in Cochise County has been shot down by the secretary of veterans affairs.
The no from Eric Shinseki has angered Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who has been pushing for a special center to be located in Sierra Vista. She wrote a recent letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs expressly seeking one.
The vet center program also is supported by a number of local veterans groups.
"The VA decision is shortsighted and dismissive of the many veterans who live in rural Southeastern Arizona," Giffords said Tuesday, calling an Aug. 17 letter from Shinseki to her a slap in the face to the more than 20,000 veterans who call Cochise County home.
In his letter, the Veterans Affairs secretary stated that the primary objective is to ensure that all counties nationwide, having a population of 50,000 or more veterans, have at least one veterans center.
Shinseki explained that the agency is expanding the program by having 39 new centers approved by the end of this fiscal year, which concludes Sept. 30.
Additionally, he noted that as part of the expansion, Arizona will receive a third such center in Maricopa County and two new ones, one each in Mohave and Yuma counties.
Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes Cochise County, says she sees no need for a third center in Maricopa County and noted that the closest one for veterans living in Cochise County is in Tucson. That requires long drives for individuals in need of readjustment counseling and outreach services for those who served in combat zones.
The vet center program was established by Congress in 1979 when it was recognized that Vietnam veterans were having readjustment problems, the congresswoman said. Numerous national experts have also noted that readjustment programs are critical to help those engaged in the current wars.
'More than numbers'
Retired Marine Col. Bob White said that while he can understand the budget problems facing Veterans Affairs, using just a statistical base. Using just a statistical base of 50,000 veterans, is the wrong way to approach decision-making.
While Cochise County has 20,000 veterans, White, who chairs the Greater Sierra Vista Area United Veterans Council, said that is only the number of people who have served in uniform in the past and does not count the active-duty service members assigned to Fort Huachuca, "who are veterans, too."
And many of those on the post have deployed to combat areas and have family members who can be served by a vet center, he said, noting the area veterans council is made up of almost every veteran service organization that supports establishing a vet center in the county. When it came to the decision-making in Washington, D.C., the circle was drawn too tightly around the 50,000 figure instead of taking in other needs, White said.
There will be disappointment in the veteran community about Shinseki's decision, he said, noting that federal financial woes are a key player in what can, and in this case, cannot, be done.
Giffords has supported veterans' issues, White said, and the best thing that can be done is to keep the issue before Veterans Affairs and hope that sometime in the future, more money will become available for additional centers "and decisions will be made on more than numbers."
The no from Eric Shinseki has angered Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who has been pushing for a special center to be located in Sierra Vista. She wrote a recent letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs expressly seeking one.
The vet center program also is supported by a number of local veterans groups.
"The VA decision is shortsighted and dismissive of the many veterans who live in rural Southeastern Arizona," Giffords said Tuesday, calling an Aug. 17 letter from Shinseki to her a slap in the face to the more than 20,000 veterans who call Cochise County home.
In his letter, the Veterans Affairs secretary stated that the primary objective is to ensure that all counties nationwide, having a population of 50,000 or more veterans, have at least one veterans center.
Shinseki explained that the agency is expanding the program by having 39 new centers approved by the end of this fiscal year, which concludes Sept. 30.
Additionally, he noted that as part of the expansion, Arizona will receive a third such center in Maricopa County and two new ones, one each in Mohave and Yuma counties.
Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes Cochise County, says she sees no need for a third center in Maricopa County and noted that the closest one for veterans living in Cochise County is in Tucson. That requires long drives for individuals in need of readjustment counseling and outreach services for those who served in combat zones.
The vet center program was established by Congress in 1979 when it was recognized that Vietnam veterans were having readjustment problems, the congresswoman said. Numerous national experts have also noted that readjustment programs are critical to help those engaged in the current wars.
'More than numbers'
Retired Marine Col. Bob White said that while he can understand the budget problems facing Veterans Affairs, using just a statistical base. Using just a statistical base of 50,000 veterans, is the wrong way to approach decision-making.
While Cochise County has 20,000 veterans, White, who chairs the Greater Sierra Vista Area United Veterans Council, said that is only the number of people who have served in uniform in the past and does not count the active-duty service members assigned to Fort Huachuca, "who are veterans, too."
And many of those on the post have deployed to combat areas and have family members who can be served by a vet center, he said, noting the area veterans council is made up of almost every veteran service organization that supports establishing a vet center in the county. When it came to the decision-making in Washington, D.C., the circle was drawn too tightly around the 50,000 figure instead of taking in other needs, White said.
There will be disappointment in the veteran community about Shinseki's decision, he said, noting that federal financial woes are a key player in what can, and in this case, cannot, be done.
Giffords has supported veterans' issues, White said, and the best thing that can be done is to keep the issue before Veterans Affairs and hope that sometime in the future, more money will become available for additional centers "and decisions will be made on more than numbers."
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