By State Senators Jeff Denham and Lou Correa

The birth of our country was made possible by a passion for freedom and a willingness to go to war for it. War creates veterans.

It is no surprise then that as early as 1781, George Washington made the point that “the willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

Soon afterwards, the first veterans' crisis emerged with speculators taking advantage of veterans who had been paid in Continental dollars. It seems we have had to learn from every war right down to the aftermath of the Vietnam War, which resulted in thousands of long-term homeless veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As the old maxim goes, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” As our troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, let's make sure California doesn't make the same mistakes we made following the Vietnam War 35 years ago.

Although we have the know-how to make sure we do not lose a significant portion of this generation of veterans to PTSD and other war-related issues, we do not have a way to connect with them to get them services they desperately need and truly deserve.

The State Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee recently held two hearings on the challenges facing returning veterans. What we found is California and the Federal Government both underserve them. Neither adequately tracks veterans after they leave the military. The result is returning veterans can't be properly informed about services available to them, such as medical screenings, PTSD or traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment, or educational and job opportunities.

The California Department of Veterans' Affairs (CDVA) recently created a database to connect and communicate with California veterans. CDVA's goal is to have at least 30,000 of the over two million California veterans added to the database by spring 2010.

This is a huge undertaking and we are asking for your help to reach and connect our veterans. If you have a daughter, son, brother, sister, parent, or any family member who has worn the uniform, help us help them get registered with the CDVA.

Especially if you know of a soldier who needs help, time is of the essence. Waiting too long is the difference between getting a veteran full help with the Federal Government or letting him or her fall through the cracks.

The way to register with the CDVA and get added to the database is to simply fill out a Veteran Reintegration Form. There are a number of ways to get this form: Got to www.calvet.ca.gov for a Veteran Reintegration Form. Also, the DMV and the EDD have forms available at local offices.

Senator Jeff Denham (R-Merced) is the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and a 16-year United States Air Force veteran.

Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) is vice chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and a recipient of the Charles Dick Medal of Merit.