County needs veterans and military families officer

I appeared at the Anne Arundel County District 5 Budget Town Hall meeting in January and requested that our county executive include in the FY2025 Operating Budget funds to establish the veterans and military families officer position on his staff. At other district meetings, the same request was submitted to the county budget office.

Anne Arundel County is uniquely the home of the largest number of retired military veterans and active duty personnel who are assigned to the Fort Meade/ NSA complex, U.S. Naval Academy and Navy Support Activity and to the U.S. Coast Guard Curtis Bay Ship Repair Facility.

It’s the only Maryland county with as many military bases. Yet, it stands alone among neighboring counties in not having established a staff position to coordinate with resident military bases.

The Anne Arundel County population is near 600,000. An office within county government designed to serve veteran and military families will represent approximately 16% of the county constituency. This is a significant percentage of residents who contribute to the quality of life in their communities, businesses and organizations where they serve with dedication and provide leadership. They are represented at the present time by an all-volunteer Veterans Affairs Commission to the county executive and staff.

A veterans and military families officer could manage veterans issues in the county to include welcoming veterans and families to the county.

Choices for long-term residence include calculations based on cost of living as well as lifestyle. By successfully encouraging families to stay, the county would benefit from the education, training and leadership in community activities veterans and active duty military could offer. We are good citizens, a credit to the county.

In the county administration, the veterans and military families officer would be responsible to establish a dedicated office to guide, inform and provide access to veterans, military families and their dependents and survivors.

This person would act as the central point of information and reference, and be the primary point of contact and county representative and liaison between county government and military facilities. The veterans and military families officer position needs to become part of county administration.

It is past time for the county executive to move forward on this request. The part-time veterans liaison position that manages matters between the veterans affairs commission and county administration is inadequate to meet the needed support, service and coordination responsibilities, as clearly shown by our neighboring county administrations’ actions to establish equivalent staff positions.

— Dan C. Tootle, Severna Park