Fort panel agrees to look at veterans' services
New subcommittee to deal with vets hospital and interests
BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Despite protests outside the gates of Fort Monmouth like this one last June, the federal government decided to close the Army base.

EATONTOWN - A subcommittee dedicated solely to the interests of military veterans will soon be formed by the panel overseeing future uses of Fort Monmouth.

With eight members present, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority agreed to set up the subcommittee to work on behalf of those veterans who might have to seek medical care and other services elsewhere once the local U.S. Army base closes in 2011.

The creation of the subcommittee, whose membership will be named at a later date, is the first formal step the nine-member authority has taken toward looking at the concerns of veterans, many of whom have shown up at the public-private entity's monthly meetings with numerous concerns.

Most of those veterans are worried about having to leave Monmouth County for medical care once Fort Monmouth's Patterson Army Health Care Clinic (PAHC), operated by the U.S. Department of Defense Healthcare, shuts down in October 2010.

In proposing the subcommittee, Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo, an authority member, told his colleagues that questions about the future of medical care for veterans at the clinic dominated the discussions at a military retirees' luncheon he attended at Gibbs Hall, located at the base, on Oct. 14.

At the same gathering, Tarantolo recalled that a local American Legion post commander had asked him to tell authority members that the federal government has called upon veterans' organizations nationwide to participate in a return-to-work training program for discharged fighters.

The program, known as "Heroes to Hometown," is looking for local support of job-training programs for veterans, Tarantolo said.

"There seems to be more and more emphasis on veterans, not only locally, but around the country," Tarantolo said.

"I recommend we look into the veterans' interests and services by gathering a committee," he went on.

Those who work with veterans could be brought into the fold to assist that growing population after the fort is shuttered, Tarantolo concluded.

Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, another authority member, agreed and seconded Tarantolo's motion.

The concerns of military retirees should be addressed through the subcommittee as well, Burry said.

"We can draw from the outside [of the authority], said Burry, whose husband is a military retiree.

The state's Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) office is also on board, said Burry, who noted that she had mentioned the idea of the subcommittee to Ellen Stein, who oversees that department.

Nonetheless, Billy Ryan, a veteran who spoke during the meeting's public portion urged the authority to do everything in its power to bring a state-of-the-art, inpatient Veterans Administration (VA) hospital to Fort Monmouth.

Presently, a VA outpatient clinic, overseen by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is a tenant inside the PAHC building.

The Veterans' Administration is hoping to keep an outpatient clinic operating in Northern Monmouth County to serve its approximately 23,000 clients even after Fort Monmouth closes, according to Stein.

Only an inpatient hospital, not an outpatient clinic, will meet the needs of veterans, said Ryan, who identified himself as a patient of the clinic.

"[The veterans] would like you to stop using the word 'clinic' and start using the word 'hospital,' " Ryan told the authority. "We can get a veterans hospital at Fort Monmouth. The funding is there. It's doable. It's needed."

The authority does have much to consider regarding future uses of the fort property, Ryan acknowledged, but the veterans' needs should come first.

"Your number one priority ought to be the veterans hospital," Ryan said. "You can show the people in Monmouth County how you really feel about the veterans."

The VA is looking at three options to continue its outpatient services, one of which would be to sign a new lease with whoever might purchase the PAHC building, according to Stein.

A second option would be to sign a lease agreement to use space in one of the area's local hospitals.

The third option calls for the VA to locate and enter a lease at another location inside the county to be determined later, Stein has said.

Fort Monmouth, a 1,126-square-foot property is set to be shuttered by the Pentagon under its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Most of its military and civilian workforce will be relocated to the Aberdeen (Md.) Proving Ground in 2011 after the base closes.