JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Joint Base Langley-Eustis hosted Gene Garland from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s office, April 12 -13, 2022. Garland is the Senator’s military liaison and outreach coordinator.
Garland visited both Langley and Fort Eustis to get information on support agencies the base offers for military and their families. This included programs for suicide prevention, military work/life balance, community engagement and morale.
“As employees of Joint Base Langley Eustis, we are all part of the broader Virginia community,” said Pamela Adams, JBLE violence prevention integrator. “When we get the honor and opportunity to host distinguished visitors representing this state, we get the chance to showcase our services and innovations, as well as address our challenges and the needs of our Airmen and Guardians. In turn, these well-informed congressional and other influential visitors are uniquely positioned to advocate for our service members and their families via additional resources/funding, policy change, and so forth.”
During his meetings with each bases’ community action team, Garland received overviews of organizations like the Military & Family Readiness Center, Army Community Service, and Military & Family Life Counselors. Instead of having a briefing with slides, Garland and the helping agency personnel engaged in conversations about the programs.
“I communicate with the Senator on many military related items, so he can have his [meetings] with the other senators and hash out what goes into the next National Defense Authorization Act,” Garland said. “Meeting here with you allows me to inform him on the right language to put in that bill to help you out, so we can better take care of our men and women in uniform and their families.”
Garland will take what he gained from his conversations at JBLE back to Warner, where he can use the information to make decisions in the senate on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Warner was a former governor of Virginia before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008.
“Ultimately, my boss, Senator Warner, wants to help make Virginia a place that military members and their families want to stay,” Garland said. “Hearing what I have today gives me ideas I can take back to my boss and to other branches I meet with to help get us there.”