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Honoring the Sacrifices of the Fallen Means Protecting the Rights of Soldiers and their Families

[Column 338, May 23, 2005] | Archived Columns

By Todd A. Smith*

On Memorial Day, May 30, our nation again asks itself the impossible question of how to honor the sacrifices of the brave men and women who've died protecting our families, our country, and our freedom.

With U.S. troops deployed all over the world from Afghanistan to South Korea, approximately 138,000 troops still on the ground in Iraq, and more than 1,500 killed in that conflict, that question takes on even graver significance.

We honor them by never forgetting those who have fallen - recognizing their individual sacrifices, stories, and bravery. We honor them by never forgetting every day that the freedom and quality of life Americans enjoy comes at a high cost. And we honor them in how we treat all servicemembers and veterans.

Having a family member deployed to fight abroad is difficult for any family, in any war. This war has been especially tough on those at home because of the enormous reliance on the Reserves and the National Guard, who make up over 40% of the troops being rotated into Iraq.

That makes it all the more critical that our laws protect the rights and interests of men and women in the military who leave their families to fight on behalf of ours.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) protects the employment rights of National Guard, Reserve and Active Duty members of the armed forces.

It mandates that members of the armed services can not be discriminated against in hiring, reemployment, or promotions. And it assures that when they come home from serving they get their civilian jobs back or a position of similar seniority, status and pay.

Persons in the military who believe their employment rights are being violated should contact their employer, then their unit commander, and then the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), through www.esgr.com or 800-336-4590.

The American Bar Association also has a standing committee on legal assistance for military personnel, and many trial lawyers do work for soldiers without charge.

The Servicemember's Civil Relief Act (SCRA) guarantees that servicemembers are not unnecessarily and unfairly hurt financially by taking on the important obligation to defend our nation in wartime.

It covers all Active Duty servicemembers, Reservists and National Guard members while on active duty, and protects them from eviction or foreclosure if they cannot make rent or mortgage payments.

It gives members of the armed services the right to terminate leases if suddenly deployed. It protects servicemembers' private life insurance policies and it limits the amount of interest that may be collected on debts of servicemembers while deployed.

As Chalker W. Brown, a retired Navy captain, said last year, "The last thing you want is a young sailor programming a Tomahawk missile in the Persian Gulf who is worrying about whether his car is being repossessed back home."

We need to enforce these laws and make sure military men and women aren't victimized by scams designed to prey on them. For instance, loan sharks have been setting up "payday loan" operations near military bases and charging interest rates of 400% and higher. More than 200 of these quick-loan outlets surround the Navy bases of Norfolk and Hampton in Virginia for instance.

Because they target military families and servicemembers living on base, these predatory loans usually aren't prohibited by the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act. And the recent bankruptcy bill Congress, passed under pressure from the credit card industry, will make it harder for soldiers to escape a cycle of bad debt.

Newspapers have also exposed private insurance companies that sell high-cost life insurance to young military recruits. The sales charges on the policies consumed 50% of some soldiers' contributions.

In another shameful case, a financial services company used misleading information to sell mutual funds to thousands of military officers. Lawsuits are pending to force the company to stop and pay back the servicemembers who'd been scammed.

On Memorial Day, it is important to honor the sacrifices of the fallen, not just with words of praise, prayers, and with symbols like the flag, but in how we treat all those in uniform and their families.

Let no one doubt anywhere in the world that our loved ones who are lost in war and all those who wear the uniform are honored and remembered by the United States of America.

May God bless our country.

*Todd A. Smith, president of the American Association for Justice, is a partner in the Chicago, IL, law firm of Power Rogers & Smith.