VA official on improving service for vets

By Jaedda Armstrong

Speaking to a room full of service members Thursday, Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth shared her own story as a wounded Iraq veteran as well as the VA's plans to improve services to vets.

"As a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and advances in medical technology and treatment, more and more veterans are surviving devastating injuries received during combat," said Duckworth, who in 2004 lost both legs and partial use of one arm during combat in Iraq.

With the largest one-year increase in the VA budget in more than three decades, Duckworth said, President Barack Obama has made it clear that serving the nation's veterans is a high priority.

Duckworth was the keynote speaker at the annual convention of the Fleet Reserve Association, which represents current and former enlisted members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

Tasks on Obama's agenda include: increasing funding for the VA by $25 billion above the current baseline in the next five years, switching to electronic medical records so there won't be anymore "lost" files, and investing in better technology, services and benefits for more efficient health care.

An audience member asked Duckworth to share memories from the day she was injured.

A Black Hawk helicopter pilot and major in the Illinois Army National Guard, she was on her way back to base after a long day when she and her crew flew into an ambush.

A rocket-propelled grenade instantly exploded against her legs - she described it as a fireball in her lap.

"I didn't know my legs were gone," Duckworth said. "I was just trying to fly."

Duckworth was able to land safely. Her crew captain also lost his legs. Another member of her crew received the "Forrest Gump wound" - he was shot in the rear.

"The cool thing is that now he goes out to bars on Thursday nights and tells the girls 'Why, yes, I have a Purple Heart for combat - would you like to see my scar?' " Duckworth said to laughter from the audience.

Since her recovery, Duckworth has testified several times before Congress regarding medical care and employment for veterans. In 2006, she ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives.

"We owe it to our wounded warriors that when they come home, they can get the care and opportunity they deserve," she said, "so that they can live their lives to the fullest."

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5846, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com