Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Military
November 21, 2008
Military
SECTION 1. Executive Summary
For the approximately sixty participants in the military affairs transition advisory group session,
there were four chief issues. The first was the proper state structure for military affairs. Many
participants favored the creation of a state cabinet-level office, perhaps under a secretary of
military affairs. The second was economic development. Participants focused on the need for
increased efforts to move additional authority for making military procurement decisions to
military commanders in North Carolina—and growing the state’s defense industry economy.
The third was infrastructure. Participants addressed ways to pay for facilities made necessary
by growth. And the fourth was the need to upgrade services to veterans and their families,
especially through health care, taxation changes, and workforce opportunities for transitioning
military personnel.
A theme throughout the discussion was the need for base sustainability. That is, North
Carolina must quickly develop comprehensive and coordinated land use plans and regulations
to protect the state’s military facilities from encroachment by incompatible development. Only
if the military continues to view our bases as effective and efficient facilities can we count on the
benefits from continued military presence.
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4 Session Summary 12: Military
assistance and civil support functions. Congress has recognized the change in the Guard’s
role and has allocated additional resources to improve Guard equipment. Nonetheless,
equipment levels remain a concern for the Guard.
hh The third is the need to support members of the Guard through the colleges or
universities in the state. In the current financial squeeze, it is especially important that
resources be made available for the payment of bonuses and other forms of compensation
to permit soldiers and airmen to continue their education.
hh The fourth is the fact that the families of Guard soldiers and airmen suffer greater
challenges than the soldiers and airmen themselves. The state has responded with the
creation of family assistance centers in Greenville, Greensboro, and Caldwell County,
with help of all sorts—including help in dealing with the payment of health care costs
through the federal TRICARE program to which military personnel have access. More
efforts of this type are greatly needed.
the female representation among veterans was minuscule and is not geared to fully meet
the needs of female veterans.
hh The fourth challenge is to provide services related to education, training, and health care
to the large numbers of veterans returning to North Carolina each year.
See the electronic supplementary material for more detailed information.
should work to have the Department of Defense (DOD) shift more of the procurement
decisions to the commanders who will be based in North Carolina.
hh The second is the need to involve existing North Carolina businesses in defense-related
economic development activities. It is insufficient—or even undesirable—to concentrate
exclusively on attracting new businesses. There must be a combined approach of reaching
out to in-state and out-of-state businesses.
hh The third is the need to involve our educational system—particularly the universities and
the community college system—in appropriate educational activities that train people to
support the needs of the defense industry and posture universities to take advantage of
economic development opportunities through research and development.
Other discussions of issues related to maximizing this opportunity relate to lack of state-level
leadership, the increasing rate at which the military makes use of off-base local providers of
goods and services, matching workforce training programs to jobs that will be created, taking full
advantage of the workforce skills of military spouses, and retaining veterans and military retirees
in the state.
Finally, the issue of base sustainability—that is, development of coordinated land use
regulations that protect military facilities from incompatible encroachment—has a distinct
economic development component. Only if the DOD continues to perceive its North Carolina
facilities as desirable will North Carolina continue to reap the benefits of economic development
opportunities.
Infrastructure Needs
As the military presence in the state continues to grow, the well-being of members of the military
and their families, the well-being of nonmilitary members of the surrounding communities, and
the capacity to take advantage of economic development opportunities all turn on the provision
of sufficient infrastructure—educational facilities, transportation facilities, water, and wastewater
management. The overarching issue is the need to provide financial resources to deal with
growth.
Potential responses to this issue discussed by participants included (1) taking advantage of new
state leadership to advocate to the N.C. congressional delegation and the DOD for additional
federal funds for roads, rail, ports, and schools; (2) petitioning the Gates Foundation for creation
of technology institutions around bases; and (3) focusing state efforts on smart, sustainable, and
base-sustainable growth.
around military bases, but they are much less available around the state generally. Many
veterans (as well as many active National Guard members) live in areas far removed from
military facilities, and they sometimes have great difficulty getting the health services
they need.
The state should work through its congressional delegation to get TRICARE rates
increased and it should explore incentives to increase health care provider participation.
Additionally, it should work to have the Navy/Marine Hospital at Cherry Point reopened.
hh The second issue relates to family support services. The stresses that military service can
put on families are serious and unique. The state should work more actively to coordinate
its social services programs with similar programs of the military.
hh The third issue centers on taxing military and government pensions. As a result of
litigation settled some time ago, taxation of pensions differs depending on when the
retiree retired. The state should strongly consider upgrading its “military-friendliness” by
removing the state taxation on these pensions for all retirees.