WASHINGTON, D.C., March 09, 2007 - The National Commander of The American Legion, Paul A. Morin, today pledged his support to former Senate majority leader Bob Dole and Donna E. Shalala, former secretary of health and human services, as they lead a bipartisan commission that President Bush charged to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and throughout the military’s health care system.

“The American Legion stands ready to provide this committee any assistance we can,” said Morin. “Providing service to our wounded soldiers as they make the transition from military to the veteran health care is something that we have been doing for 88 years.”

Earlier this week Dole was quoted by the New York Daily News asking, “I wonder where all the service organizations were?”

In response, Morin sent a letter to Dole clarifying that The American Legion has not only been there for the nation’s soldiers and veterans since 1919, but remains at the forefront today with programs designed to assist and improve the quality of life of America’s servicemen and women.

“I believe he asked that question without realizing the extent of the services being provided by VSOs across the Nation,” Morin said. “The American Legion continues to visit all Dept. of Veterans Affairs medical facilities to monitor the quality of health care and Legion posts across the country are working with our office at the Dept. of Defense Severely Injured Servicemembers Center to directly assist their transition back to civilian life at home.”

On Tuesday, Morin signed an historic MOU with Walter Reed Army Medical Center, establishing an American Legion transition office to assist wounded servicemembers in cutting through the red tape that now hinders a truly seamless transition between DoD and VA. This will be the first time The American Legion has a presence at a DoD Military Treatment Facility (MTF). While access to DoD facilities has been extremely limited in the past, this historic new partnership agreement with Walter Reed will allow The American Legion to more directly assist wounded servicemembers with their transition from DoD to the VA health care system.