HOW HE SEES IT Expand military health insurance

By Sen. TOM DASCHLE
KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Last week Lt. Jeff Allen, an anesthetist with the 348th Combat Support Hospital, was awarded the Purple Heart. Allen was hit with shrapnel in his leg and near his eye when a homemade bomb detonated under his humvee in Mosul, Iraq.
Even after being hit, Allen reached for his M-16 rifle and fired several rounds to protect his fellow soldiers. Lt. Allen says that if the bomb had detonated an instant later, he would have lost his life.
Lt. Allen is now home beginning his rehabilitation in Rapid City, S.D., with his wife, Andrea, and his twin sons, Ethan and Abraham. All America stands united in gratitude for his service, and in debt for his sacrifice.
Lt. Allen's service as a member of the Army Reserve signifies a new era for the American military. Never before has our nation organized its military to rely so heavily on our reserve forces, as the line is increasingly blurred between the duties of full-time and "part-time" soldiers.
In the last years of the Cold War, reservists performed about 1 million duty days per year; last year, they performed 63 million. America's so-called part-time soldiers are playing a vital role in Iraq. In Iraq, 43 percent of the soldiers on the ground are members of the National Guard or Reserve. Reservists face the same bullets, and perform every bit as heroically as full-time soldiers.
Changing responsibilities
Unfortunately, the way we show our thanks to Guard members and reservists has not kept up with their changing responsibilities. Even though they are risking their lives on our behalf in Iraq, many Guard members and reservists will lose their health insurance and be left without any coverage whatsoever after their service is complete. In fact, one of every five Guard members and reservists -- and 40 percent of enlisted personnel -- have no health insurance.
I have met with many families of Guard members and reservists from South Dakota and across the country and have heard similar anxieties. They tell me that just as they fear what might happen to their sons and daughters during combat, they also fear that their loved ones will lose their health-care coverage once they return home.
To honor the service of our reservists and ensure the Guard and Reserve are prepared for whatever future mission our nation will call them to, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and I have introduced a bipartisan bill that would enable the families of Guard members and reservists to buy into the military's TRICARE health insurance system. This would reduce health care costs to the families of reservists and prevent the disruptions in coverage caused by deployment schedules. Last year, the Senate passed a one-year trial version of this program. It's time to make it permanent.
Not only would TRICARE bring the cost of health care within the reach of Guard and Reserve members and their families, but it would reduce the chance that a Guard or Reserve unit could not deploy because too many of its members had health problems. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, one in four Guard members and reservists were unable to report for duty because of a health condition. Entire units were unable to deploy because too many of their members were not healthy enough to perform their duties.
Perhaps most important, TRICARE would ensure that the Guard and Reserve remain attractive opportunities for Americans who want to serve their country. The increasingly long and frequent tours of duty have already discouraged many reservists from re-enlisting. In the words of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a member of the Air Force Reserve, "We've got a real retention issue. ... You're going to see just an emptying, when people's tickets are up, of Guardsmen not stepping up to the plate."
Long tours
A recent survey of reservists found that 22 percent who had served long tours overseas were likely to quit when their tour is up, rather than re-enlist. That is nearly twice the rate of a few years ago.
Unless this recruitment-retention crisis is addressed, these losses could severely undermine unit readiness and erode America's national security. National Guard leaders have told us the most important thing we could do to increase retention and support recruitment is to offer the TRICARE benefit.
Yesterday we celebrated Memorial Day, a time for our nation to remember and pay tribute to those men and women who gave their lives in the service of their country. This year, Memorial Day had a special urgency and poignancy, because tens of thousands of soldiers are facing mortal danger in Iraq. America's troops and veterans deserve all the thanks our grateful nation can offer.
X Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is minority leader in the U.S. Senate. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.