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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2013)
Street roots March 1, 2013 Vetting Oregon's next top vet As the candidate to head the state’s Department o f Veterans Affairs, Cameron Smith looks to shepherd a new generation through a complicated system U .S . A IR F O R C E P H O T O B Y ST A F F S G T . J A M E S L. H A R P E R JR. BY ROBERT BRITT A form ation o f F-15 Eagles from the Oregon A ir National Guard receive fu el from a S T A F F W R IT E R Washington A ir National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker during Exercise Sentry Eagle on Aug. 10. Sentry Eagle is a biannual, two-day exercise held by the Oregon A ir N ational G uard’s 173rd Fighter Wing. ast month, Gov. John Kitzhaber nominated policy advisor and Marine Corps veteran Cameron Smith to be the next director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs in the wake of Jim Willis’ announced retirement. A veteran of the war in Iraq, Smith has served as a senior policy advisor for military, energy and public safety issues for two governors. He now awaits Senate confirmation before becoming the ninth director of the ODVA, and the second youngest by mere months. Meeting over a cup of coffee in Old Town Chinatown, we began our conversation about the generational shift from the Vietnam leadership to the Iraq War veterans, and what signficance that might have on the work of Veterans Affairs. L C a m e r o n S m ith : The leaders of our veterans’ organizations and the veterans community is the Vietnam generation right now. They have stood up to support the current folks coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan in a way that their generation was not. I have been inspired. If I have any success, it will be as a bridge among all of our different generations of veterans — both appreciating where we’ve been, how we’ve got where we are, and where we’re going. It’s not just going to be just the new, younger generation, but really tapping into the expertise of the World War II folks, the Korean veterans, Vietnam-era generation through today. didn’t have during the Vietnam generation. But sometimes there’s a gap in that depth of understanding, from our citizens to the military. During World War II, I think we had 8 or 10 percent of our able-bodied citizens serving in the military, so everyone had a g re a te r c o n n ectio n . E ven in th e R o b e r t B ritt: You are 34 years old and if Cameron Smith Every generation I think is different; what they experience, both in war and in coming home. The Vietnam era had its own challenges. You’re familiar with what folks face coming back now, over a decade of war, repeated deployments. I mean, I served three times deployed and that’s not even at the top of the chart. People go five, seven times, so the stress that causes on the families and on the service members. More folks are surviving injuries due to great medics and great advances, but a then lot of difficult and challenging health issues remain when they come home — physical and mental health. There’s great support for our veterans and our military families in a way that we c r e a t i n g c o m m u n it y , c r e a tin g c h a n g e , to g e t h e r } C.S.: There’s definitely a youth, energy and passion that I hope to bring to it, but it’s also a huge mission that goes well beyond me. There’s a tremendous team at the ODVA, tremendous partners across all the different agencies, the sectors, and the different levels of government. If it were a lone-wolf mission, I would be nervous, but what’s reassuring is the team that surrounds the director. program, and it was originally why the agency was founded in 1945 after World War II. And it used to have thousands and thousands of loans out there generating revenue that could be driven back into veteran’s services, above and beyond paying off the bonds that were loaned out for the mortgages. With the 2008 housing crisis, with different demographics, the program doesn’t have an ability to refinance, so if a veteran has a high interest rate or got in at a high interest rate a few years ago, the market has gone lower, they then refinance out of the program. So the sustainability of that program and strengthening that core function, beyond what it does for getting our veterans and families into owning a home and an American dream. It’s the lifeblood of the agency, in terms of additional revenue being driven back to core veterans services. R.B.: What is the biggest obstacle that the ODVA faces? R.B.: What are your top three priorities for veterans’ issues? C.S.: One big challenge, other than those other demographic impacts and building ■ See VETERANS, page 11 Wfll M e e t Y ou r L o c a l B ra n c h M a n a g e r: » Hospitality & friendship Community change through the Dorothy Day Community School Working together for nonviolence & justice And don’t forget: fun! A ll ore w e lc o m e - M o n d o y-F rld o y, lOom - U O p m confirmed by the Senate, yo u ’ll be the second- youngest director o f ODVA. What is that going to help you bring to the position? SISTERS OF THE ROAD We are— } Historically, i t ’s b een a v e ry ro b u st Vietnam War, we had the draft and a broader impact. So this generation has largely been balanced on one percent serving repeatedly. S is te rs Of The Road } } those partnerships, is our veterans home loan program. 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