April 26, 2010 

On behalf of the 100,000 members of the Association of the United States Army, I write to thank you for introducing the “Improving Veterans’ Electronic Transition Services (iVets)” bill.  This legislation would direct the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to conduct a feasibility assessment of the value of creating a veteran-specific enterprise Web portal.  Such a portal would allow continued electronic access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) for veterans.

The current lack of access to their OMPF places an unnecessary and frustrating burden on veterans and limits the continuum of care and support they need during the transition from active servicemember to veteran.  Establishment of a veteran-specific enterprise Web portal would make it much easier for servicemembers, as they transition to veteran status, to have seamless access to their service, benefit, and health care information online.

AUSA endorses this legislation and will be happy to assist in assuring its passage.

                                                                                             Sincerely,

                                                                                             GORDON R. SULLIVAN
                                                                                                General, USA Retired