Robert Smith: “several months ago, one of my constituents, Gilbert Miller, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, walked into my…”

“several months ago, one of my constituents, Gilbert Miller, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, walked into my Medford, OR office to share an idea with me. After doing some research, he discovered that some military reserve component members who had honorably served their country as Selected Reservists were not eligible for funeral burial flags. In response to this inequity, and in recognition of Veterans' Day, I rise to introduce a bill authorizing the Department of Veterans' Affairs to issue burial flags to deceased members of the reserve component. Mr. President, National Guard and Reserve units and individual members increasingly share the day-to-day burden of our national defense. Their service is routinely performed in a drill or short active duty tour status alongside an active component service member. Their status, however, does not make their contribution to our national defense any less important or less critical. Simply put, many requirements could not be met without the direct involvement of Reserve forces, either in a drill status or on short active duty tours. In view of this reality, I believe it is time to expand the current law regarding burial flags to include these members of the total force.”