Releasing bad or controversial news on a Friday afternoon, particularly before a three-day weekend, is one of the oldest PR tricks in the book. Such was the case on Friday, May 30, when Gov. Kay Ivey issued a press release with a headline worthy of the National Enquirer for its irony: "Ivey Continues Bolstering Veteran Support.”
“I look forward to continue working with this group to make Alabama the number one state for veterans,” Ivey said. What her statement really said is that Alabama is NOT the number one state for veterans. And she's been in state leadership for how many years now? What a slap in the face to Alabama veterans, active and reserve ranks, especially on the heels of Memorial Day and Military Appreciation Month!
Veterans will remember! Veterans are paying attention and see how Mee-maw – a “Governor in Name Only (GINO),” as Joey Clark once rightly pointed out – has "bolstered" support for us. In her eight years in office, no one can remember Ivey visiting a single one of the 70+ state veterans facilities in Alabama (perhaps it’s too predictive of a photo for her to visit a nursing home?), not one veterans service office opening (of which 12 new offices were opened under our previous commissioner of Veterans Affairs), not even the state veterans cemetery on any of the veteran-centric holidays or otherwise.
Veterans will remember! To my recollection, Ivey has never visited one of the dozens of federal VA facilities, such as the large medical centers in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, or Tuskegee, not even to visit wounded warriors in those facilities. She is great at doing carefully scripted video messages from the safe confines of Goat Hill, where she doesn't have to actually mingle with citizens, as she did once again right before Memorial Day 2025. But heaven forbid she physically spends real facetime with our veteran community. In my four years as an appointed board member to the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, of which Ivey is chairperson, she attended one board meeting for a photo op and a quick statement for the camera, then scurried across the street to Goat Hill. It was almost like the eight minutes she spent with us were seven minutes too long!
Veterans will remember! A year ago, the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) was about to open a state-of-the-art veterans home in Enterprise to finally address the state’s embarrassing waiting list – the longest in the nation – for long-term care for elderly and disabled veterans. It’s another site she has never visited, and she was even too busy to attend the 2024 ribbon cutting!
Veterans will remember! Just six months ago, we had an independent and functional State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) with substantive authority and oversight that unanimously re-appointed the very commissioner Ivey wrongfully removed. The same commissioner who rapidly made vast improvements to Alabama veteran and dependent benefits, programs, rights and resources. The same commissioner who spearheaded the new veterans home mentioned earlier.
Veterans will remember! Our state has historically been labeled at the bottom of the nation for veteran suicide. We haven’t forgotten that upon Admiral Kent Davis’ assumption as commissioner, ADVA began to seriously address veteran mental health through “Alabama’s Challenge,” a program he initiated, and an effort made up of a large cross-section of experts across the care spectrum. The Alabama veteran suicide rate was finally dropping in 2023 for the first time in recent memory. But Ivey’s – and the Alabama Legislature’s – restructuring of the ADVA and SBVA will impact the functionality and funding of Alabama Challenge. Don’t be surprised if veteran suicides rise in the near future.
And how can we forget that:
- We have a governor who has engaged in apparently spiteful warfare against veterans because the former commissioner dared to follow the law and report an ethics violation to a spineless (and apparently UNethical) Ethics Commission.
- Jeff Newton, the quickly appointed interim commissioner, is now Ivey’s appointed commissioner, a retired 1-star Air National Guardsman who was previously on Ivey's National Guard Joint Staff. Newton does not appear to be the kind of change agent, leader, and visionary that we enjoyed in Davis.
- We have Ivey’s "NEW AND IMPROVED!" SBVA, now field-stripped to an advisory-only role and led by National Guardsman retiree Scott Gedling, the sole legacy board member who had a direct hand in creating much of this turmoil with his corrupt and unethical leadership.
Yes, Ivey is done next year, and Alabama will see a new governor, but damage to the ADVA has been done. Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre), in my professional opinion, has led Ivey's charge to politicize our Alabama Veteran agency. He seems to play politics at the sole expense of veterans and their families, dismantling Veterans Affairs to stay in good graces with Ivey and his other cronies, seemingly selling out to Americans who wore the cloth of our nation! Our new governor will most certainly have swamp-draining operations on the agenda.
Bryan Battaglia is a former member of the Alabama State Board of Veteran Affairs and has nearly 37 years of active duty culminating as the 2nd Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, (SEAC) the Armed Forces senior ranking Noncommissioned Officer.
Troy Carico is a former infantry enlisted soldier (11B) and infantry officer with branch qualifications including counterintelligence (35E) and military intelligence (35D). He served with distinction in the U.S. Army for more than 22 years, and is highly decorated and service connected disabled. He also has prior service as a civilian intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency Great Skills Program and has served in numerous clandestine assignments throughout the world.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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