Salisbury VA partners with North Carolina Air National Guard for transition outreach assistance
Service members transitioning from an active status are often relieved to grab their newly signed DD-214, jump in their cars, and exit their installation’s main gate for what may be the last time.
They often face an uncertain future filled with periling new responsibilities as they prepare themselves and their families for the next chapter of life as a civilian.
These challenges typically include months-long job searches; complicated housing arrangements; expensive health care; continuing and higher education; and many more considerations that are otherwise stable and predictable while serving on active-duty.
Many also choose to continue their service part-time through affiliations with a local National Guard or reserve unit – adding to the already granular transition process.
Luckily, the partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) has helped to prepare countless service members over the years for the very real transition every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Guardian, or Coast Guardsman will one day face when they become a “full-time” Veteran.
And while the VA and DOD, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, have worked to revitalize the five-day Transition Assistance Program, which every active-duty service member must attend before leaving service, many National Guardsmen and reservists may not always have the same opportunities in their own transitions following long activation periods or while exiting service after decades of monthly inactive duty for training – or “drill” – periods.
The Veterans Health Administration commits an abundance of outreach staff and resources to reinforce those transitory efforts for active-duty members, Guard members, reservists, and Veterans in communities throughout the nation to help cover some of those gaps.
In the VA’s Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), the Salisbury VA Health Care System remains at the forefront of Veteran outreach initiatives to ensure transitioning service members are prepared to re-enter civilian life – whether for the first-time after a long career and retirement or following numerous activations as National Guardsmen and reservists.
To kickoff 2025, Salisbury VA recently hosted a transition outreach event for U.S. Airmen with the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, at the Charlotte Air National Guard Base in Charlotte, North Carolina, Janaury 10 - 12, 2025.
Led by the facility’s VA Liaison and Post-9/11 Military2VA (M2VA) Case Management team, the Airmen were offered VA health care enrollment opportunities and educational presentations about VA assistance on the health care, benefits, and national cemetery roles of the department.
Timothy Nason, a transition patient advocate with the M2VA Case Management Program at Salisbury VA, was joined at the event by colleagues from the Charlotte Health Care Center’s enrollment & eligibility team and the Charlotte Vet Center.
“We have established a great partnership with the 145th Airlift Wing,” said Nason. “It is an honor to assist and serve military members of the North Carolina Air National Guard.”
Many Airmen took the early portion of their weekend drill period to meet with VA staff to ask questions about their upcoming transition – whether that be in four years, or forty years.
Several service members also stuck around to ensure they could ask private health questions with Salisbury VA employees and, most importantly, lock in their new enrollment at VA.
One of those Airmen was U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Moore, a crew chief with the 145th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard.
Staff Sgt. Moore, who has served on and off in the Air Force – first in the Air Force Reserves in Charleston, South Carolina, before landing with the Guard in Charlotte – is preparing to exit service soon and use the VA benefits and health care he has earned through years of faithful military service.
“I came for all the benefits I qualify for and to get better information … so I can take care of myself and my family. It’s something that I’ve earned, so I want to make sure I utilize everything that I can,” said Staff Sgt. Moore
After experiencing issues with enrolling in VA health care at other non-VA events throughout his career, Staff Sgt. Moore left the presentation with a completed and submitted enrollment application – and a newfound appreciation for the plethora of VA resources he plans to use after completing his service with the Air National Guard.
“You never know what’s going to happen when you get out. You qualify for it, you work for it. It costs a lot for health insurance, so VA, that’s when they step in and help you out,” he said.
Newly equipped with access to VA health care and other Veteran benefits in the Charlotte area, Staff Sgt. Moore, like thousands of other Veterans before him, is excited for his next chapter.
However, when asked about what’s in store for him, Staff Sgt. Moore did not shy away from talking first about pride in his decade-plus of Air Force service – a legacy he will carry on with him forever as a new Air Force Veteran.
“[The Air Force] was a good avenue for me. I enjoyed it, I love it. It’s what you make out of it.”
About the Salisbury VA Health Care System
At the Salisbury VA Health Care System, our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Learn more at www.va.gov/salisbury-health-care.