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Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs outlines readiness priorities, recruitment and benefits gaps
Summary
Deputy Director Terry Sabol told the House Family and Veterans Committee the department is nearly fully staffed but faces readiness gaps tied to health-care and dental access, and detailed priorities including an encroachment fix at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, a childcare benefit pilot and a planned veterans cemetery in Crawford County.
The Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs told the House Family and Veterans Committee on Thursday that the department is “wide reaching” and largely funded by federal dollars, but faces readiness and retention challenges tied to health-care access for service members.
Deputy Director Terry Sabol described the department’s footprint — roughly 11,000 people across the National Guard, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and Michigan Veterans Homes — and said the department is operating at about 95% of authorized service-member strength. “When you sign on the dotted line ... you have in right away become a member for life,” Sabol said, adding the department tries to provide services for veterans “from the time that you sign on the dotted line until the time that you pass.”
The department emphasized three budget priorities Sabol said it is working on with appropriations committees: an encroachment solution at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, a childcare-assistance benefit for National Guard members, and development of a national veterans cemetery in Crawford County.
Why it matters: Department officials said readiness is diminished when members lack routine health care. Sabol told representatives that some Guard members are medically non-deployable for routine issues — including dental problems — because they lack outside health coverage. The committee asked how the legislature could help; Sabol said the department is exploring options such as supplementing TRICARE Select coverage and tapping existing state programs to provide insurance for members who lack it.
The Selfridge encroachment issue, Sabol said, will require shifting the runway to address a federally-identified clear-zone problem. He said the waiver that once covered that condition was withdrawn about 10 years ago, and the runway work is needed to preserve future fighter missions at the base.
On recruitment and retention, Sabol said the department regularly monitors staffing and retention trends and is trying to reach 100% of authorized end-strength. He described armories and installations across the state — including Camp Grayling, Battle Creek, Fort Custer, Selfridge and Alpena — and said the Guard’s community ties are important to readiness and retention.
The committee also asked about the Michigan Volunteer Defense Force, a volunteer supplemental organization Sabol described as a citizen reserve that can augment the Guard if needed. He said he would provide exact membership numbers later.
Votes at a glance: Representative Johnson moved to adopt the minutes of the March 4 meeting “without objection.” The clerk recorded the motion as ordered; no roll-call vote was recorded.
Committee members followed Sabol’s remarks with questions about how many Guard members might be medically non-deployable due to dental issues and what state steps could reduce that gap. Sabol said the department is pursuing internal and federal program options to improve readiness and health coverage for younger Guard members.
The department asked the committee to coordinate with the legislative affairs office for information and follow-up; Sabol and staff offered to provide additional details on counts and specific program options if requested.
