By MARTIN J. KIDSTON
FORT HARRISON — The Department of Veterans Affairs opened a new $4.5 million regional claims office here Tuesday, touting the facility as the VA’s first energy efficient and environmentally certified building.
The facility, an appealing one-story structure, will process health-care claims for Montana veterans, including those returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Lt. Gov. Jon Bohlinger, along with representatives from Montana’s congressional delegation, gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening the 22,000 square-foot building, which sits east of the larger VA Hospital.
Mike Walcoff, the associate deputy undersecretary for benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the new office currently employs 48 people. In the future, the office could grow to serve as a resource center for other states.
Montana is home to 107,000 veterans, the most per capita of any other state in the union. The Department of Veterans Affairs operates 57 regional offices scattered around the country.
“The vast majority of veterans are receiving quality care and the type of services they deserve,” Walcoff said. “It’s not to say that we’re perfect. We have to continue to strive to make it better.”
Walcoff said it was difficult to read about the issues plaguing the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in major newspapers, and to hear it discussed on national television.
Despite the setbacks at the Army hospital, he said, the VA healthcare system remains one of the best providers in the country.
“This is a job where, everyday that you come to work, you can make a difference in people’s lives,” he said. “You have the responsibility of seeing to it that veterans get the care and attention they deserve.”
Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley, adjutant general of the Montana National Guard, said the relationship between the VA and the Guard remains strong. The Montana VA has made the processing of claims for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan its top priority.
Mosley also addressed the Guard’s effort to expand care to veterans who not only suffer physical wounds from the war, but also suffer post-combat stress.
“I spend a lot of my time reviewing statistics,” Mosley said. “The statistics show only those who have been physically wounded. They don’t show the statistics for those who have come back with behavioral problems or mental wounds.”
Nearly 80 percent of the Montana National Guard has deployed since 2001. Missions have included operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, post-hurricane relief in New Orleans, and border patrol in New Mexico.
While the Montana Guard is experienced in preparing and ultimately sending soldiers off for duty, Mosley said, it now needs to address its post-deployment care.
To do so, the Guard has established a new task force, which meets today for the first time. The group will provide Mosley with an assessment on what needs to be done, and how to do it.
“I look forward to seeing that assessment,” Mosley said during the ceremony.
The new VA facility provides compensation, pension, and rehab benefits, among others. It includes interview rooms, offices for various divisions, a conference center, and a room for veteran’s service organizations.
The cubicles are comfortable and plush, and the filing system is expansive. Claims filed by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been made a priority.
Dean Bjerke, president of Diamond Construction, which won the contract for the project, promoted the facility as state of the art. It’s the VA’s first building certified as a Leader in Energy and Environmental Design.
“It pushed the envelope for us,” said Bjerke. “But we have a very special group of people we have to serve here. It was an honor to provide some small contribution to that community.”
