IN his Veterans Day remarks, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres announced that there will be town hall meetings this week across the CNMI to address the concerns of veterans, military servicemembers, and their families.
Prior to his remarks, Office of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Stanley T. Iakopo raised a number of concerns regarding the treatment of veterans in the Commonwealth.
“Each and every one of us should be held accountable, including myself, to our veterans who fought for us and our rights [for] many days, nights, and years. We should be held accountable and give back to our veterans who live today and remember those who did not,” said Iakopo, noting that accountability begins with action.
“I would like to see a new culture of accountability here in the CNMI. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. We need to do right by our veterans across the board no matter the status or circumstances they’re in. Our veterans brought home physical pains and emotional scars. They should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect when they come home,” Iakopo said.
He added that he supports legislation that would mandate the government and private sector to provide veterans with incentives, as well as veterans preference eligibility.
Torres concurred and said the CNMI and its leaders need to do more for its veterans.
“[There will be notices for] town hall meetings for every village, including Rota and Tinian, to listen to all of our veterans and their families… I appreciate the freedom that we enjoy every day, and [I] acknowledge all the sacrifices, but it is true that we [have to] do more,” he said.
Should a veteran be unable to make it to the town hall meetings, the governor encouraged that s/he contact Iakopo to arrange for a home visit instead.
Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios shared the sentiments of the governor, adding that he looks forward to attending the town hall meetings to listen to the concerns that will be raised.
He said he also intends to work with Iakopo and the CNMI Legislature to ensure that the veterans’ concerns are addressed by the Commonwealth leadership.
“With so much tension and focus on things that divide us, it becomes too easy to overlook something that should unite us. Our gratitude [goes to] the sacrifices of our veterans and those that are presently in the Armed Forces,” Palacios said.
This year’s CNMI Veterans Day Ceremony keynote speaker, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Michael S. Sablan, likewise encouraged the CNMI government, private sector, and community members to continue to assist its veterans on their return to civilian life.
“There are no words that I can say to sufficiently honor their service, but while we can only accept that we can never repay our debt, we must also recognize that there are opportunities that we can endeavor to try to repay by continuing to assist our veterans on their return to civilian life in our community,” Sablan said.
He noted that additional programs to assist veterans are underway as the U.S. Congress seeks to expand services for the insular areas, including a bill to establish the Insular Veterans Advisory Board, which would provide a critical platform from which insular areas can articulate and pursue further improvements in the delivery of services for all veterans.
“We all know that for far too long, our veterans in the insular areas have been underserved and we must continue to advocate to correct this inequity,” Sablan said.
“I encourage all our veterans and your families to learn more about these benefits. Contact your veterans affairs office. Visit your local providers,” Sablan said, noting the recent arrivals of a number of veterans counselors, including U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs legal administrative specialist Willie Peterson III.
Peterson, for his part, commended the CNMI’s leaders for their efforts in assisting veterans.
“They’ve all worked together to get to where we are today to bring the resources here for the CNMI. [There are opportunities] for us going forward to do better for the veteran community and their families, and that’s my challenge: to assist all three islands to receive the benefits that they’ve earned. We’re going to work hard to make sure that those veterans and their families do fill out the applications that need to be completed, and I’ll do my job to make sure that they’re processed accurately and then once they get their decisions, we’ll take it from there,” he said.
“I believe that the veteran community here has a lot of strong allies and those allies are working feverishly to bring resources here to the CNMI, the issue being that sometimes, because of location, things are difficult, but… here [in the CNMI], the VA clinic is resourced. As the keynote speaker, Mr. Sablan, said there are additional resources that have been allocated out here to the islands, and they’re working hard together in concert to marshal even more resources. There are challenges, but you guys have a great team here in the public sector and the private sector all working together to bring as much resources as possible here to the CNMI.”
