NELSON: GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY FOR GUARD, RESERVE TRAVEL

Nebraska's Senator Proposes Legislation to Ensure Troops Can Get Home

February 13, 2008 - Last Christmas, more than forty Nebraska National Guard soldiers might have been stranded far away from home during the holidays if it hadn't been for the intervention of dedicated private citizens who provided donations to cover expenses for traveling home. Now Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson is introducing legislation to ensure that our soldiers are not left without a way home for the holidays again.

"Members of the National Guard and reserve put their lives on the line to protect our nation. They leave behind family, friends and jobs in order to fulfill their service obligations,” said Senator Nelson. "But when training was suspended for these soldiers, they were told they were on their own. That should have never happened and I want to make sure it never will again."

Forty-three members of the Nebraska National Guard's 110th Medical Battalion were stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington State in December for training exercises. Shortly before Christmas, they were informed that training was going to be suspended for two weeks. They were not given assistance in traveling back to Nebraska.

Fortunately, a group of concerned citizens led by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce quickly raised enough to ensure that the troops could come home. The Chamber had been notified of the guard members' plight by Nelson.

Now Nelson, the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, is working to make sure this situation will not occur in the future. This week, he introduced legislation, S 2623, to allow the Secretary of Defense to use Department of Defense (DoD) funds to pay for travel if a reserve member is placed on leave because of training suspensions or staffing issues. The language would apply to situations where a reserve member is more than 300 miles from home and has been place on leave for more than 96 hours.

"The Nebraska National Guard members were placed on leave due to events outside their control and were then told that DoD had no authority to pay for their travel home," said Nelson. "Well I'm going to give DoD that authority to make sure our troops are given the consideration they deserve."

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	Press Release	February 13, 2008
NELSON: GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY FOR GUARD, RESERVE TRAVEL Nebraska's Senator Proposes Legislation to Ensure Troops Can Get Home February 13, 2008 - Last Christmas, more than forty Nebraska National Guard soldiers might have been stranded far away from home during the holidays if it hadn't been for the intervention of dedicated private citizens who provided donations to cover expenses for traveling home. Now Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson is introducing legislation to ensure that our soldiers are not left without a way home for the holidays again. "Members of the National Guard and reserve put their lives on the line to protect our nation. They leave behind family, friends and jobs in order to fulfill their service obligations,” said Senator Nelson. "But when training was suspended for these soldiers, they were told they were on their own. That should have never happened and I want to make sure it never will again." Forty-three members of the Nebraska National Guard's 110th Medical Battalion were stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington State in December for training exercises. Shortly before Christmas, they were informed that training was going to be suspended for two weeks. They were not given assistance in traveling back to Nebraska. Fortunately, a group of concerned citizens led by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce quickly raised enough to ensure that the troops could come home. The Chamber had been notified of the guard members' plight by Nelson. Now Nelson, the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, is working to make sure this situation will not occur in the future. This week, he introduced legislation, S 2623, to allow the Secretary of Defense to use Department of Defense (DoD) funds to pay for travel if a reserve member is placed on leave because of training suspensions or staffing issues. The language would apply to situations where a reserve member is more than 300 miles from home and has been place on leave for more than 96 hours. "The Nebraska National Guard members were placed on leave due to events outside their control and were then told that DoD had no authority to pay for their travel home," said Nelson. "Well I'm going to give DoD that authority to make sure our troops are given the consideration they deserve." ###