Star-Tribune Editorial Board

As we honor Wyoming veterans and those across the nation today, Veterans Day serves as a reminder that the United States must be vigilant in its effort to take proper care of those who have fought for their country.

That means our congressional delegation and state lawmakers need to make certain that our returning military men and women will always have the health care services they need, plus whatever help they need reintegrating back to America.

Since 2001, more than 1,100 Wyoming Guard soldiers and airmen have deployed at least once to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many others from F.E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne and Wyoming personnel in all other branches of the military have served with honor.

Our nation's troops face an uncertain future in the Middle East. President-elect Obama has said America needs to refocus its effort on the Afghanistan conflict and deploy more troops there.

Meanwhile, even though some progress has been made in Iraq in the past year, the Wyoming National Guard is still set to send more than 940 soldiers from the 115th Fires Brigade there and to Kuwait next April. Guard officials say it's the largest military deployment from Wyoming since World War II.

Many of the men and women serving their country overseas have returned home with physical and mental injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder. The Veterans Affairs medical centers in Cheyenne and Sheridan, as well as five regional health care centers in Casper, Gillette, Powell, Riverton and Rock Springs, have expanded some of their services in the past year with the addition of more federal funds.

Still, as the Star-Tribune's July series "Back From War" showed, there are some gaps in coverage around the state. Some Wyoming veterans have slipped through the cracks and gone without treatment, with disastrous personal results.

As one Riverton Army veteran with PTSD told Star-Tribune reporter Jared Miller last summer, "War takes your life and flips it upside-down."

To its credit, the Wyoming Legislature wasn't satisfied with federal efforts to help veterans. Lawmakers stepped up at their last session and provided an additional $800,000 to make sure state veterans home from Iraq and Afghanistan get the mental health care they need. Some of the money helped pay for two veterans' advocates who travel the state, as well as for mental health screenings and to reimburse veterans and their families for travel expenses.

Sen. Mike Massie, D-Laramie, who sponsored the bill, said the Legislature is monitoring the situation. If it needs to, he said the state is prepared to play an even larger role in veterans' health care.

That's good news. Veterans' health care needs to always be on the radar of our congressional delegation, which has a good record of working for veterans' benefits. But where there are gaps in coverage or flaws in the system, the state also has a responsibility to offer veterans the help they've earned.