With approximately 1,500 members of the Maryland National Guard returning from overseas deployments in the next six months, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Governor Martin O' Malley held a roundtable discussion today with members of the National Guard and their families. Senator Mikulski has been a leader in the fight for federal funding for reintegration initiatives for National Guard members and Reservists returning from combat. Maryland Veterans Affairs Secretary James Adkins, Maryland National Guard Transition Coordinator Lt. Col. Mike Gaffney and Regimental Chaplain Sean Lee also participated in today's roundtable at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore.

 "We know that the stress of combat and long deployments away from home can wreak havoc on our troops' well-being and family life in the months after their return. The brave men and women in our National Guard have been fighting side-by-side with our active duty troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so that we may live in freedom - they deserve the same support from the government when they return to their civilian lives," said Senator Mikulski. "I will never abandon our troops - on the battlefield, or when they come home."

 While President Bush continues to ask for billions of federal dollars every week for the war, his administration has not established a national reintegration program for National Guard and Reserve personnel to assist their transition from combat to civilian life. The President's fiscal year 2009 budget also provides no funding for reintegration initiatives for National Guard members and Reservists, including the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which was authorized in Mikulski-sponsored legislation as part of the fiscal year 2008 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 4986).

 The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which establishes paid reintegration events at 30, 60 and 90-day intervals upon return, will also provide counseling and services for members and their families.
Active duty units returning from combat have reintegration and counseling services, but returning Guard members do not have anything comparable, even though Guard members can face a higher reintegration burden than active duty troops.

 It is estimated that $73 million is needed to fund the Yellow Ribbon program for fiscal year 2009. Senator Mikulski is fighting for $45 million to be included in the emergency supplemental spending bill, which will be considered by Congress in April, to support soldiers returning this year. She also sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, urging him to fund the national reintegration program despite the lack of funding in the President's budget proposal.

 With no national reintegration program, some states, including Maryland, have established their own programs, but the Defense Department has refused to fund these state-supported programs. Currently, Maryland faces a $1 million funding shortfall for the state program, despite Governor Martin O'Malley's support in the state budget and a recent $1.2 million diverted from the National Guard Bureau's budget.