Alabama has a rich history of social justice movements. But it also has a very rich veterans’ community, housing four military installations, not including our Reserve and National Guard units, along with all their families.
Since 2017, our Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) program has tirelessly improved the quality of life in our veterans’ community. Will that continue after the 2025 Alabama Legislature session?
Veterans are promised improved service each election year and photo opportunities for elected officials to get our votes. But the travesty that unfolded last fall concerning ADVA Commissioner Kent Davis’s firing was eye-opening, to say the least. The fact that a sitting governor is not being held accountable for her seemingly gross abuse of power shows that our state government is broken and our veterans’ benefits are in jeopardy.
Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre) and Rep. Ed Oliver, (R-Dadeville) have confirmed that work is happening on a bill to change the dynamic of our state veterans’ program.
I’d like to offer a veteran’s insight into these potential changes so that Alabamians can understand the aftermath of Davis’s firing since state officials apparently will not.
Davis made veteran suicide a top priority during his leadership years. He hosted town hall meetings bringing in veterans to voice their needs. He assisted with awareness campaigns across the state by supporting Operation Iron Ruck and The Governor’s Challenge. He answered requests for a new state veterans home needed in Alabama. He listened to the need for improvements for our State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort. Despite undergoing personal cancer treatments, he prioritized the welfare of Alabama veterans and their families.
I first met Davis at an American Legion Riders event to raise money for local veterans in Ashland. There, we spoke of the Veterans Treatment Courts in Alabama, a diversionary court program designated for the rehabilitation of justice-involved veterans, providing much-needed behavioral health services and rehabilitation for veterans who may need assistance with transitional services. The Calhoun County Veterans Treatment Court currently has only a 1% recidivism rate; Davis visited this program each year as commissioner to check on the veterans. State programs like this will likely be affected if the legislature makes changes.
Most articles referencing Alabama’s veteran community set the number at 375,000. As I’ve learned from personal experience in the military, that number is tragically wrong! Former commissioner Davis also knew this firsthand from the many town halls he hosted, and thus, he changed how the ADVA phrased veteran identification. No more, “Are you a veteran?” Instead, “Have you served in the military?” became the norm. This one change got many well-deserving veterans filing claims for benefits and getting the medical care they needed.
So why is it that the state that was once a social justice movement icon is now pushing our veteran voices aside for election-year purposes? Why does it seem that Ivey’s staff, along with legislators like Jones and Oliver, are trying to push a bill under the table without the support of our veterans and ANY of our Alabama State Veterans Board?
Our elected leaders have apparently forgotten that a grassroots organization called the American Legion was the one who established this state veterans’ program in the first place.
Ashlie Combs served nine years in the United States Army and deployed to Iraq in 2007 with the 10th MNT Division. In January 2012, she was honorable discharged and medical retired. Combs has dedicated her time as a veteran advocate and served as a Veteran Treatment Court mentor. She currently is a Lifetime member with the DAV, VFW, and serves as Veteran Officer for the American Legion Post 71 in Attalla, Ala.
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