AA907D67DE145C10872584F0005C6F9D Hearing Summary

Colonel Brey Hopkins, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), introduced himself to the committee and discussed his background. He also introduced Greg Dorman, Resource and Legislative Director for DMVA.

Col. Hopkins described DMVA's performance plan (Attachment A) and provided a handout (Attachment B) to the committee members.  He discussed recent developments in U.S. military structure, including the creation of the U.S. Space Force, and their impact on the state and the Colorado National Guard.

Col. Hopkins discussed the work of the Division of Veterans Affairs and the Civil Air Patrol.

Col. Hopkins discussed the DMVA's "wildly important goals": reducing the stigma of seeking mental health assistance, increasing the understanding of veterans' needs to improve their customer service experience, improving environmental and energy stewardship, and increasing the number of middle and high schools with Civil Air Patrol cadets.

Col. Hopkins described DMVA's budget decision items and legislative agenda.

Col. Hopkins responded to a committee member question about the impact to the state if the United States were to go to war. He addressed another question about the value of the Civil Air Patrol to Colorado's schools.

Mr. Dorman responded to a question about the encroachment of development around Buckley Air Force Base by discussing the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program begun several years ago. Col. Hopkins noted, in response to a question, that no current Colorado guard members are deployed in Iraq.