News Release

Defense appropriations bill includes $5 million
for UNC-Chapel Hill’s Citizen-Soldier Support Program

CHAPEL HILL – Congress gave final approval today (Friday) to the 2007 U.S. Department of Defense Appropriations bill that includes $5 million for the Citizen-Soldier Support Program (CSSP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The program is a national demonstration project that helps mobilize local civilian community agencies and services to support citizen soldiers and their families. Citizen soldiers are the men and women who make up the National Guard and the other Reserve Components of the armed services. While active duty personnel often live on or near military bases or posts, citizen soldiers maintain civilian jobs until mobilized and may live hours away from the nearest military installation, making access to the many services and support programs offered there especially difficult for these families.

U.S. Rep. David Price, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, led efforts to secure funding for the program in the House, with bipartisan support across the North Carolina delegation. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, championed the program in the U.S. Senate.

“We are again grateful for the strong support North Carolina’s entire congressional delegation has given the Citizen-Soldier Support Program,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser. “North Carolina prides itself as a military friendly state, and with our delegation’s commitment and assistance, Carolina has the opportunity to lead the nation in developing a model of community support for our citizen soldiers – extending and complementing the strong foundation of family support provided by the National Guard, Reserve and other military organizations.”

Congress initially appropriated $1.8 million in 2005 to develop the collaborative program, which is organized under the auspices of the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. The program received $3 million in federal funds in fiscal year 2006, enabling it to expand services statewide. In 2007, the Citizen-Soldier Support Program will launch a national technical training and assistance center to enhance support for citizen soldiers in communities nationwide.

The program’s director, Dr. James A. Martin, is an associate professor of social work and social research at Bryn Mawr College and a retired Army colonel who developed numerous programs to address the challenges of military family life during his 28-year Army career. Martin said service members and their families are remarkably resilient but face a number of challenges when they are mobilized and deployed and especially during the readjustment period that follows.

“The sacrifices that soldiers and their loved ones make every day are very real and very immediate. In addition to the emotional strains of separation and uncertainty, families often confront a host of day-to-day challenges, such as obtaining health care and child care, taking care of household maintenance and car repairs, and working out transportation issues,” Martin said. “At the same time, their fellow citizens within their own neighborhoods and communities are eager to support them – often they just need to know how to connect with citizen soldier families.”

Dr. Allison Rosenberg, associate vice chancellor for research, federal affairs, at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Dr. Dennis Orthner, a professor in the university’s School of Social Work, developed the program in response to the country’s increasing reliance on citizen soldiers. Orthner and retired Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Doug Robertson served as the program’s first directors.

“Community support networks have a strong role to play in sustaining and encouraging citizen soldiers and their families before, during and after mobilization,” Rosenberg said. “By offering technical training and hands-on assistance, the program enables communities to leverage existing resources quickly and effectively.”

Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 360,000 Guard and Reserve soldiers have been mobilized for missions overseas and at home, including at least 33,600 who have been mobilized more than once. Many of these citizen soldiers have deployed to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others have been assigned to rescue and humanitarian work along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and to new domestic security missions along the southwest border. North Carolina alone has more than 25,000 National Guard and Reserve members.

The Citizen-Soldier Support Program’s community liaisons work throughout North Carolina, drawing on university resources and experts to help communities adapt and enhance existing local programs and services to more effectively understand and meet the needs of citizen soldiers and their loved ones.

In the past year, the program partnered with the North Carolina National Guard family program, health care professionals, faith communities, recreation departments, libraries, cooperative extension agencies and civic organizations to promote services benefiting citizen soldiers and their families. The program’s community liaisons also teamed with local government officials to host community events honoring soldiers and their loved ones. A Web-based professional education program for health care providers is being developed to help them recognize and treat the physical and emotional health issues faced by returning service members and their families.

The Citizen-Soldier Support Program complements and expands on direct services provided by National Guard family programs and the family services available from the Department of Defense, Reserve Components and service departments (Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps). The program is administered through UNC-Chapel Hill in partnership with N.C. State University, East Carolina University, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, UNC-TV and Bryn Mawr College.

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Citizen-Soldier Support Program contact: David Hunt, (919) 962-0132 or (919) 636-0698 (cell), davidhunt@unc.edu
News Services contact: Kyle York, (919) 962-8415, kyle_york@unc.edu