By George Lisicki, Florida Times-Union
October 20, 2008
I recently stepped down as commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, America's largest organization of combat veterans.
Recently, 20 past national commanders of the VFW and the American Legion, America's largest veterans' organization, joined me in supporting John McCain for president. You should, too.
My 37-year tenure at the VFW made me keenly aware of the challenges faced by veterans of all conflicts, and provided me the honor of fighting for veterans' rights and benefits on Capitol Hill.
In the process, it gave me a unique insight into members of Congress' commitment to America's veterans.
Throughout a distinguished career, McCain has always been a friend to veterans. He is one of us, and understands us at a gut level like no other candidate. We may not have been in lockstep on every issue - that is to be expected. But McCain has consistently supported veterans, and as president, he'll be in our corner long after the election season ends.
McCain has a long list of legislative accomplishments benefiting veterans. For example, he worked across the aisle to co-author the Wounded Warrior Act, which was the first major piece of legislation to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury - serious injuries affecting our young veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has fought for health care for retirees and for members of the National Guard and Reserve.
He has fought to reform the disability system, for concurrent receipt, for homeless veterans, for Gulf War veterans and victims of Agent Orange, and for families of America's fallen heroes. The list goes on.
The GI Bill, for which he has been unjustly criticized, is a perfect example of McCain taking a principled stance that benefited veterans and the country. He could have taken the easy course politically and signed on to the original version of the bill.
But McCain understood what many of us involved in the process frankly didn't fully appreciate at the time - that the bill needed to be improved.
It failed to address a high priority education request of career service members and their families - the freedom to transfer their benefits to a spouse or their children.
And it made it harder to retain the young leaders who form the backbone of our all-volunteer force.
Once the bill was improved to address these two deficiencies, McCain supported it enthusiastically.
Veterans, military families and the country should thank McCain for making the GI Bill better. Allegations that he opposed the bill because it was "too generous" are misleading and inaccurate.
They are also ironic given that the transferability provision that he fought for will lead to greater use by military and veteran families, and therefore higher cost.
When McCain has voted against legislation containing veterans' provisions, it has generally been because the bills included earmarks, or tax increases, or both.
We instead applaud McCain's courage and his commitment to reform. For it is courageous reform that we will need in the years ahead, to bring accountability to the VA, to improve veterans' care, and to ensure that the money we spend for veterans care actually serves veterans.
I encourage you to reflect on the qualities of leadership that we all valued most highly in the military - integrity, wisdom, loyalty and the courage to do the right thing.
I believe you will conclude, as I have after working with him for many years, that McCain embodies those qualities.
He will serve America honorably. He will keep America safe. And he will never let our veterans down.
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