Military men and women put their lives on the line defending this country. What should they get in return?

That’s the question AMVETS will pose at the National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans in Chicago Oct. 18-21.

WAECHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2006 — One-fourth of the young men and women returning from military service in Iraq and Afghanistan will contact the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical treatment for the physical and psychological injuries of war.

Others will contact the VA for information about other government services, ranging from job training programs to government-backed home loans, which were conceived as a way to help them transition back into civilian jobs.

Trouble is, many veterans will find that these programs, which were initially conceived following World War II, are not only underfunded and saddled with unnecessary bureaucracy, but sorely lacking in relevancy to the needs of 21st century families.

That’s why AMVETS is organizing the National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans, an unprecedented Oct. 18-21 event at Chicago’s Hyatt Regency O’Hare. The Symposium will bring together veterans, active duty military, families, government, business and education leaders and others serving veterans for the specific purpose of soliciting their best ideas to improve and refine our nation’s system of veterans’ benefits.

“We know the VA benefit system doesn’t work because thousands of veterans wind up unemployed and homeless after completing their military service,” said Tom McGriff, AMVETS’ national commander. “We have an obligation to make sure that our young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan do not face a similar fate.”

Anthony Principi, the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and past AMVETS national commander William Boettcher are leading the symposium’s steering committee and country music stars Lee Greenwood and Darryl Worley have signed on to provide entertainment. Among the speakers are:

· Retired General Tommy Franks, who served as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He will be the keynote speaker.

· Major Tammy Duckworth, the Army National Guard pilot who lost both legs when a grenade hit her Black Hawk helicopter while flying a mission over Baghdad.

· U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Dana Bowman, a double amputee who successfully re-enlisted in the United States Army.

· Retired Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, the first African American woman taken as a POW (Iraq). She will talk about the challenges she has faced since returning from service.

· Command Sergeant Major Debra L. Strickland, one of the highest-ranking enlisted women in the U.S. military. Strickland is CSM to the director of the Army’s Installation Management Agency, which is responsible for base operations on all Army installations worldwide.

· Retired Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley, who served as the nation’s 12th Sergeant Major of the Army from June 23, 2000 to January 15, 2004. Sergeant Major is the highest enlisted position in the U.S. Army.

· Luz Rebollar, an AMVETS National Service Officer and naturalized American citizen who enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was seriously injured and medically retired from the Navy before her 20th birthday.

Retired General Anthony Zinni, the former head of the U.S. Central Command, has joined the symposium’s Honorary Committee, which also includes Senators Bob Dole, Chuck Hagel and Daniel Inouye; The House of Representatives’ Heather Wilson and Bob Filner; actors Martin Sheen, Dennis Franz and John Amos; singer Lee Greenwood; and NFL Hall-of-Famer Mike Singletary.

Attendees will convene in 55 work groups, each of which will recommend solutions that address a specific problem involving the existing veterans’ benefit system as well as the unique challenges today’s veterans face.

Topics of discussion will include VA claims filing procedures, processing and backlogs as well as the performance of specific government programs, such as the Transition Assistance Program and the Disabled Assistance Program. Work groups will also address the overall quality of veterans’ health care, the performance of specific benefits programs and VA staff attitudes toward patients.

The employment and re-employment rights of military personnel will also be examined as well as the specific causes of homelessness among military veterans. Recommendations on how to enhance benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserves will also be sought through these discussions. AMVETS will then use the recommendations to form the basis of a detailed action plan to improve the nation’s veterans benefit system.

The National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans supporters include the McCormick Tribune Foundation, Bell Helicopter, Caterpillar, The Joyce Foundation, Military.com, SheerBliss Ice Cream and the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and is endorsed by the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Marine Corps Association.

To obtain registration information, please visit the symposium’s Web site at www.veteransnationalsymposium.org.

A leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America's Armed Forces, AMVETS is the only veterans service organization that represents members of every branch of the military, including the National Guard and Reserve. AMVETS provides support for veterans and the active military in procuring their earned entitlements as well as community services that enhance veterans’ quality of life. More information on AMVETS can be found at www.amvets.org.