No Result
View All Result
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard

National Guard, reserve veterans among IAVA’s advocacy all-stars

AmeriForce Staff
by AmeriForce Staff
March 2, 2023
IAVA

Natalie Lupiani and Joseph Somosky take part in legislative and media training as part of IAVA's Advocacy All-Star Fly-In in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27, 2023. Each year, the event brings about 20 IAVA members from across the nation to Capitol Hill for a week of lawmaker staff engagements, advocacy training, and congressional hearings. Courtesy IAVA

At the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as many as half the U.S. service members deployed at a given time were drawn from National Guard or Reserve forces. It comes as little surprise, then, that when Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) launched its All-Star Advocacy Fly-In on Capitol Hill on Monday, it included several reserve component veterans.

With more than 425,000 members, IAVA is the nation’s leading veterans service organization that focuses on veterans from the post-9/11 conflicts. Its annual Fly-In event, known formerly as “Storm the Hill,” brings about 20 IAVA members from across the nation to the halls of power in Washington for a week of lawmaker staff engagements, advocacy training and congressional hearings. The hope is the experience will inspire a passionate core to further their advocacy work at home, or possibly, pursue advocacy as their life’s work.

“Over the years, some have joined the staff of IAVA and other national [veteran service organizations], some have joined congressional staff and the administration, some have run for office,” said IAVA CEO Jeremy Butler during a March 1 joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.

According to its most recent member survey, 61% of IAVA members are serving or previously served in the National Guard or reserves. One of those members, Natalie Lupiani, came to Capitol Hill eager to engage policymakers about issues impacting female veterans.

Natalie Lupiani

“The cultural issue of really recognizing women veterans is an important and meaningful start,” said Lupiani, an Air Guard veteran who now works as a pollster and strategic consultant. “I know how much words really do matter. Updating the VA’s motto to make it more inclusive is a very important first step in changing perceptions and the culture.”

Lupiani’s views are in keeping with IAVA’s #SheWhoBorneTheBattle campaign, an effort to bridge the gaps for female veterans’ health care and change the VA’s motto, which includes “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan,” a quote from President Lincoln’s second inaugural address. The motto, IAVA maintains, only furthers the perception that VA health care – and the wider veteran community – is a male-dominated space.

“The VA needs to do quite a bit more to ensure women veterans can rely on them for their health care, just as male veterans have for decades,” said Lupiani, a military sexual trauma survivor. “Many women veterans won’t step foot in a VA hospital because it’s a fearful place for them … Currently, there is a big disconnect between the number of female veterans and the lack of VA providers who genuinely understand women’s concerns.”

RELATED: Presumed sick? Burn pit legislation receives bipartisan support

Lupiani’s passion for modernizing the VA and advocating for female veterans mirrors two of the IAVA’s “Big 6” priorities. The others include addressing toxic exposure related to burn pits, strengthening education benefits, advancing alternative therapies such as cannabis and MDMA, and combatting the veteran suicide crisis.

“The most important issue for me is veteran suicide,” said Joseph Somosky, an Army Guard veteran who joined Lupiani and others for this year’s Fly-In. “It’s a very personal issue for me because three of my soldiers took their lives. I try to live my life in a way that honors them and motivates me to keep advocating.”

Joseph Somosky

Somosky, who works in law enforcement in Colorado, said suicide prevention should be rooted in connecting veterans with resources, whether through VA, VSOs like the VFW or American Legion, or community health agencies. VA studies indicate that when veterans experiencing suicidal ideations receive mental health care, the rate of acting on suicidal thoughts plummets compared to those who don’t access care.

“There are a lot of resources and sometimes they are overlapping, but the key is connecting them to the resource that is a good fit for them,” said Somosky, while acknowledging the National Guard and reserves pose special challenges for leaders. “It’s unique in that you don’t see your soldier every day and you’re often geographically spread out, so there’s a disconnect. … But I’m a believer in action over words, and being here with the leaders on Capitol Hill, it means a lot to be able to engage with them and do the work of advocacy.”

Butler, who serves as a Surface Warfare Office in the Navy Reserve in addition to his role as IAVA CEO, said wars are expensive and don’t stop when service members return home.

“As we have often said at IAVA, “if you don’t like paying the cost of benefits for veterans, stop creating more of us,’” Butler said.

For more information, or to learn more about IAVA’s priorities, visit its website.

 If you are a veteran in need of mental health assistance, call the Veterans Crisis Line. Dial 988 and Press 1.

Read comments
Tags: american legionIAVAIraq and Afghanistan Veterans of AmericaJoseph SomoskyNatalie LupianiNational GuardNavy Reservereserve componentVFW
AmeriForce Staff

AmeriForce Staff

Related Posts

The last World War II veteran on active duty served for nearly 55 years after the war

by Military.com
1 week ago
0
World War II

Dr. Earl Russell Fox spent most of his life in and around the military, joining the Navy during World War II.

Read more

AFRC, Mercy hospitals training agreement benefits multiple parties

by Allison Churchill
2 weeks ago
0
Mercy

An agreement between Air Force Reserve Command and Mercy allows reservists in medical fields to train at the Catholic hospital...

Read more

Ohio Guard quietly removed guardsman guilty of making ghost guns last year

by Military.com
2 weeks ago
0
Ice covers the "Minuteman" statue in front of the Ohio Air National Guard Headquarters building, Dec. 20, 2016. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Joe Harwood\Released)

The Ohio National Guard says it booted a guardsman who was sentenced for making ghost guns from its ranks months...

Read more

Military services will amend COVID vaccine-refuser records so they aren’t passed over for promotions

by Military.com
3 weeks ago
0
Vaccine

All military services are reworking their policies to adjust separation & promotion records for those who refused the COVID-19 vaccine.

Read more

Space National Guard gets renewed push from lawmakers

by Military.com
4 weeks ago
0
Space National Guard

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are once again backing a bill that would create a Space National Guard.

Read more

Ukraine support: Meet the reservists who give the U.S. an ‘unmatched advantage’

by Kari Williams
4 weeks ago
0
Joint Transportation Reserve Unit

The Joint Transportation Reserve Unit of TRANSCOM gives the U.S. and 'unmatched advantage' in the United States' support of Ukraine.

Read more

Ads

Let's get social

The RNG Drill

News delivered directly to your inbox

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL
  • GET THE NEWSLETTER

GET RESOURCES

  • VETERANS TOOLKIT

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

SUBMISSIONS

  • PITCH US
  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Never miss out on the latest stories.

© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • RESOURCES
    • VETERANS TOOLKIT
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2022 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW

Skip to toolbar
  • About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • AMP
    • View AMP version