Veterans for America: Pennsylvania's National Guard: Tremendous Sacrifice

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The citizen Soldiers of the
Pennsylvania Army National Guard have borne a disproportionate share of the
burden of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Veterans for America (VFA) has
found.

Between now and November 4th, it is essential that every presidential and
congressional candidate and their surrogates campaigning in Pennsylvania
address how they will relieve the great strain placed on the Pennsylvania
National Guard.

Pennsylvania's 20,000 citizen Soldiers and Airmen rank among the largest Guard
forces in the nation, and the most heavily deployed over the last seven years.
The state has lost 43 Guard members in the Global War on Terror, more than any
other. And the deployments continue at a breakneck pace in Pennsylvania, with
more than 5,000 of its Guard members scheduled to deploy in support of
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom within the next two years.

The speed and size of repeated deployments -- many Pennsylvania Guard members
and their families are preparing for their third combat tours -- are saddling
Guard members and their families with needs that over-match available
resources.

As one Pennsylvania National Guard Captain told VFA: "The deployments are
announced so fast, and people are going before there's even a chance to
establish Family Readiness Groups."

VFA's preliminary findings, based upon hundreds of hours of research,
interviews, and facility inspections, find evidence of strain even as
Pennsylvania's leaders continue to engage problems head-on. The pains of
readjustment to civilian life, misdiagnosed post-traumatic injuries, and
degraded readiness at home are not unique to Pennsylvania, but are
considerable because of the Keystone State's large Guard force. VFA found that
despite proactive outreach by the state to its 1.3 million veterans, more is
needed as more veterans are continually added to the ranks.

In the coming weeks, VFA will issue a final report with recommendations on a
number of specific proposals to address the problems continued deployments
create.

VFA looks forward to continuing our work with leaders in Pennsylvania, and in
Washington, D.C., to ensure that the members of the Pennsylvania National
Guard and their families receive the support their sacrifice merits.

Preliminary Findings can be found at www.veteransforamerica.org

SOURCE Veterans for America

Adrienne Willis, Director of Communications at +1-917-359-8543 or
awillis@veteransforamerica.org