/// POLICY
An interview with U.S. Senate’s longest serving military man
What is your most vivid memory from Navy and NASA service? They’re not always good. Probably my first combat mission with a missile blowing up next to my airplane. That gets your attention. Every time I launched in a rocket ship to space. Landing Space Shuttle Endeavor on its last mission, and my last mission when my wife was in the hospital.
How are Arizona Democrats winning the historically red veteran vote? It often comes down to the candidates. There’s a big difference between me and [GOP Senate candidate] Blake Masters. There’s a huge difference between U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a Marine who lived in a cave in Iraq and continued his service in the state legislature
where they live, to get the best care they can. Native veterans are a whole other challenge. If you're a veteran on the Navajo Nation, to be able to access programs for veterans is even harder. It's very remote, with poor roads and a population of 250,000 veterans — that’s one of the highest in the country. How does your committee appointment in D.C. help you advocate for veterans in Arizona? I spent three years on the Armed Services Committee and took Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) spot on the Select Committee on Intelligence right after she passed away (Sept. 29, 2023). Every day when I come to work here in Washington, but also in Arizona, I’m focused on our military, supporting service members and supporting veterans. As the U.S. Senator with the most time in the military, I’ve got a lot of experience with this stuff. A big part of my job is to make sure our service members have the training, the equipment and resources they need for any conflict they find themselves in. As a per capita measure, Arizona is a strong military state. Is mental health the biggest problem for Arizona veterans? It’s a serious problem. Not only for folks that have served, but folks that are still serving. When people leave, that transition is challenging for a lot of folks. The military spends a lot of time getting you ready to get in, but on the other end, when you leave, it can be a very abbreviated and quick process; days — or not even that. A lot of folks are unprepared for this transition to civilian life. It results in folks struggling with their mental health.
and Congress — and on the other side, you have [GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake] who is trying to take away people’s reproductive rights or the right to vote. I work with Ruben on a lot of issues that benefit Arizona. Kari Lake still will not acknowledge the outcome of the last election
CONTACT SEN. KELLY Phoenix 602-671-7901 Tucson 520- 475-5177 Washington 202-224-2235
What's the single best thing about the U.S. Military? It’s the people. We are not the best military just because we have the best stuff. We’re the best military because of our core values and what we think is important, things like
BY ELIAS WEISS
S EN. MARK KELLY (D-ARIZ.), A 25-YEAR NAVY COMBAT veteran and NASA astronaut, is committed to supporting Arizona’s veterans at home and on Capitol Hill. A member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, he has been a strong advocate for veterans in Washington, leading efforts to improve accountability and transparency at the VA and expand vaccine access for veterans. Kelly also was an original cosponsor of the bill that extended pandemic benefits for student veterans. He regularly receives feedback from his Veterans Advisory Group, made up of representatives from Arizona’s veterans service organizations, local veterans groups and community organizations. Between legislative business during the Senate session, American Veterans Magazine caught up with Kelly about everything he’s doing for Arizona veterans this year. You sponsored one of the largest healthcare expansions in VA history. What should Arizona veterans know? They need to know that, as a country, we have an obligation to all veterans who have been impacted by their service. So many veterans have been exposed to toxic substances — burn pits, agent orange and other issues based on where you were stationed. This toxic exposure has harmed generations of veterans. When I get out there in Arizona or other states across the country, it's not universally known that we passed this legislation. We want them to know that veterans can be screened for toxic exposures, and they don’t have to go through a long process to prove their health issue was directly related to this. If they were based somewhere there were toxic substances and they have a condition, we’re going to take care of them. That means over 3 million veterans. Why did you reach across the aisle to ensure all veteran cancer cases are counted in national registries? To me, it doesn’t matter if they’re Democrat or Republican. It has no bearing on how I do this job. Veteran cancer cases aren’t always counted. That data is important to our country. It helps us develop treatment that saves people’s lives. We think there are tens of thousands of cases among veterans that are dismissed in these central registries where we keep track of cancer. We do cancer research based on the data in these registries. It also
working together and mission success. That camaraderie and our professional senior enlisted corps is transformational for our military. Militaries that don’t have that really struggle — look at the Russians. What would you change about the U.S. Military? I’m looking at trying to change our military all the time. We have to be ready for our next adversary. We can’t be fighting the last war. If you’re not changing, you’re getting worse. Change is more critical in our military than anything. I’m really focused on that.
or the one before it. There could not be a starker difference between the two candidates. Veterans are people who look at the evidence and the data in front of them and make decisions. Why did you enlist? I come from a family of public servants. My grandfather served in World War II. My parents were both police officers and Dad was 82nd Airborne. I always felt like it wasn't even an option. That’s what people did, so that’s what I did. What did the U.S. Military teach you? This country has given me a lot of opportunities. Veterans are problem solvers. You get a lot of experience solving hard problems under challenging circumstances. I certainly gained a perspective on how you do that effectively. It has helped me here in the Senate.
Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, is the U.S. Senate member with the longest military career.
provides some continuity across the country. As in a lot of things, when the federal government doesn’t have a law on a certain issue, this can vary from state to state, and in this case it has. We were missing a lot of veteran cancer data. This is going to fix it. You proposed changes to the VA Health Navigator. How does this affect mental healthcare access in rural Arizona? The veteran counselor issue is something I heard multiple times when meeting with veterans around Arizona. Especially when you live in a rural community, you can't get an appointment with a counselor. So, we needed more of them. That’s true for so many other things — it’s a challenge accessing government programs and services when you live in rural Arizona. I also have bipartisan legislation to create an Office of Rural Prosperity in the White House. This will help better serve veterans who don’t live in big cities. I'm going to keep fighting for all veterans, no matter
Left: Sen. Kelly at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. Right: Sen. Kelly prepares to fly an F-16.
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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024
Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS
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