FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (March 17, 2016) -- Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery visited Fort Campbell and participated in a town hall with Soldiers Tuesday. It was part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Service Member and Veterans initiative, which began about a year ago.
During the visit he met with lawyers from the Judge Advocate General office to gather feedback from them concerning what issues they see on a daily basis. Later in the day during the town hall, Delery explained the initiative to attendees and answered their questions.
The Service Member and Veterans initiative expands on existing efforts by the Justice Department to protect service members, veterans and their Families and coordinates enforcement, training, education and outreach efforts with other federal agencies. Delery announced the launch of the updated servicemembers.gov website during the town hall. The website explains laws that cover service members, veterans and Family members including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986. Additionally, the website provides resources for legal practitioners upholding these rights.
"We're here as part of the Department of Justice's Service Member and Veterans initiative, which we began about a year ago to build on the existing work we're doing with on behalf of service members and veterans and their Families and to expand that work, build our partnership with the military and [Department of Defense]," Delery said. "So what we're trying to do with visits like this one is to hear from service members about the concerns and issues they face that we at the department of justice might be able to help address." Fort Campbell is one of several military bases Delery and his staff have visited, which includes Peterson Air Force Base, Fort Hood, Fort Stewart, Naval Air Station Pensacola and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Delery said that Soldiers can be a target of unscrupulous business practices and financial scams due to their steady income and the fact they deploy overseas on a regular basis.
"We're very focused on issues that can really impact service members and their Families financially including improper foreclosures, improper repossessions of cars various types of financial scams that are directed at the military population and potentially, obviously unscrupulous business practices in the area around a major installation and what we are trying to do is to use the enforcement authority we have at the Department of Justice both criminal authority and civil authority to hold accountable people who would take advantage of our service members," Delery said. "I think we and the department of defense view this as a readiness issue because if service members are worried about their own financial situation or harm to their Family when they're deployed then they're not going to be focused on their mission, which is protect all of us."
Another aspect of the initiative is a series of proposed amendments to federal law, which will help strengthen protection of Soldiers and their Families.
"Our experiences representing service members, veterans and their Families and our experiences traveling to bases and meeting service members has also taught us that these laws have their limitations," Delery said. "That is why the Service Members and Veterans Initiative has put forward a package of amendments to the laws that are designed to protect Service Members and is working with Congress to try to get those amendments passed into law."
Delery said that meeting with Soldiers at different bases is a valuable tool. It helps educate service members on their rights and gives them the resources they need to report violations, which can have a positive impact for all service members.
"Often a single report from a single Soldier or airman or sailor or Marine can turn into a much larger investigation," Delery said. "Some of the most significant cases we've brought in the area of financial exploitation of service members over the past several years started with a single service member calling with a complaint."
Delery cited several cases during the town hall where companies had violated the SCRA and a single phone call uncovered the problem. The resulting investigations caused Capital One to pay $12 million in a settlement, Navient Corporation to return $60 million in another case and five of the nation's largest mortgage firms returned another $311 million.
"I believe we have come a long way since the launch of the Service Members and Veterans Initiative one year ago, but there is more we can do to fight for those who fight for our country," Delery said. "It is vital that we at the Justice Department do our jobs to enforce the criminal and civil laws designed to protect service members, veterans and their Families, so that you can focus on your invaluable work protecting our nation."
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