Send-off ceremonies for our deployed troops are deeply personal events.  These men and women are members of our families, our churches, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods.  When called for missions overseas, they do not serve alone but with the support of entire communities and our entire state.  We cheer for their success, and we pray for their safe return.

Yesterday’s farewell ceremony for the Mississippi National Guard’s 150^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, part of the 155^th Brigade Combat Team, was an occasion to remind our citizen-warriors of our unwavering support and appreciation.  I was honored to take part, joining the hundreds of well-wishers at Camp Shelby for a salute to the unit before its members leave for training in Texas and then to the Middle East. 

Our country continues to expect more of our National Guard and Reserves, routinely asking their members to take on active-duty roles in far-flung corners of the world.  Over the past few decades, these forces have become a fully operational component within our military.

Lagging behind these increasing demands, however, is the delivery of benefits.  National Guard and Reserve forces are still not given three major benefits offered to their active-duty counterparts, even though they might be on the same missions.  My “National Guard and Reserves Benefit Parity Act,” introduced in the Senate last month, would change that.  If passed, Guardsmen and Reservists would have the same eligibility for early retirement and high-deployment allowances.  In addition, federal civilian employees serving in the Guard or Reserves would no longer have to worry about any pay loss because of their mobilization or deployment.

I am optimistic Congress will act quickly to remedy these remaining disparities.  Benefit equality for our Guardsmen and Reservists has been a priority in recently passed defense legislation, leading to expanded health-care access, educational assistance, and rehabilitation services.  My bill would build on these successes with benefits that match their sacrifice.

These adjustments on behalf of our Guardsmen and Reservists cannot wait.  Since 2012, the Department of Defense has had additional authority to utilize Guard and Reserve units for missions typically handled by active-duty forces, such as peacekeeping.  Units like the 150^th are ready and prepared, having had the proper training to support these missions in critical ways.  The Pentagon has turned to Guardsmen and Reservists at an accelerated rate over the past few years. 

But the call of duty is not one-sided.  The promises that Congress makes to our service members and their families – and the ability to fulfill these promises – will have a significant impact on the recruitment of the next generation of American heroes.

I have no doubt that our nation will continue to look to Mississippi for these heroes.  The Mississippi National Guard has more than 12,000 members who live and work in nearly every one of our counties.  Our state understands the depth of the commitment that our military and their loved ones make to this country with their service. 

Send-offs like the one at Camp Shelby yesterday are a moment for great pride and an abiding respect for the military service and patriotism that has long characterized this state.  We know that our goodbyes to these troops are part of a long history of send-offs, in which courageous Americans have left our shores to face down tyranny and oppression in faraway battles.  We know what the fight for freedom means to the future of our nation and the world. 

And we are forever grateful.

This op-ed appeared in the Hattiesburg American on March 4, 2018.