It is heartening to see the support for House Substitute 1 to House Bill 1, relating to the creation of a Delaware Department of Veterans Affairs. It passed the House of Representatives on May 25 by a unanimous, bipartisan vote of all 38 lawmakers present. Three were listed as absent.
Subsequently reassigned to an executive committee in the Senate, it was reported out of that body’s Veterans Affairs Committee on June 10.
I understand that Gov. Matt Meyer is in favor of this legislation as it stands.
However, the current bill, in my opinion, does not stand well. It is riddled with inconsistencies and even grammatical errors, suggesting that the staff drafting the bill may lack a deep understanding of policies relating to veterans, proper terminology used by today’s military, and the experiences of veterans themselves.
For example, the bill describes a veteran as an individual who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard or reserves (which should be spelled as “Reserves”) and who was discharged “under other than dishonorable conditions.”
There is a hierarchy of discharge categories: honorable, general, under other than honorable conditions, bad conduct, and dishonorable.
If one strictly interprets this “other than dishonorable” characterization, an enlisted individual who received a “bad conduct” discharge conceivably could serve as a commissioner or staff member for the Department. A BCD is the result of a court martial, usually involves jail time, and carries the same weight as a federal criminal conviction. Such individuals may not even be recognized as veterans by the Federal government.
The bill also does not address the status of commissioned officers who are court-martialed and then dismissed from the service.
If the legislation only allows individuals who have received a discharge to serve, it will eliminate those who have served their initial tour of duty and have left active status. They typically have two to four years of inactive Reserve duty to serve before their discharge.
Additionally, the legislation could potentially disqualify military retirees, such as myself, from serving. Technically speaking, military personnel who complete at least 20 years of service enter a retired status. They are not discharged. The state could lose the services of many qualified individuals if this discrepancy is not addressed.
I served 22 years in the Air Force personnel career field, including holding responsibility for processing punitive discharges and court-martial actions. Members of the Delaware legislature would do well to consult with the personnel offices of all branches of the Armed Forces, as well as conducting a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, before moving further on this bill.
Master Sgt. Jeff Brown, USAF, Retired
Hartly
