Guardsman’s death on border prompts bill to provide survivor benefits

All states should include National Guard members in the law if they have one.

If you read section 615.003 of their code (Title 6) covering 'Public Officer and Employees', there is a large swath of public employees outside of law enforcement (Fire Fighters, Parks and Wildlife, Chaplains, Department of Aging and Disability Services, etc) who are performing duties related to, or in direct support of, law enforcement actions that become eligible for the survivor benefits.

No reason ARNG/AFNG servicemembers on SAD that fit into that category are not included as well.

Note: not all states do what Texas is doing ... the key point is that they are excluding SAD servicemembers that are doing exactly what the guy next to them does, but that person is eligible and the Soldier/Airman is not.

LTC Eugene Chu
..."Unanswered questions
Back in Arlington, Johnson said she wants Evans to be remembered for his bravery, loyalty, selflessness and love for people.

Her grandson was a “caring, loving person” who made an impact on everyone he met and loved being in the military, she said. He came from a military family and joined the JROTC drill team at Mansfield High School before signing up for the Texas Army National Guard in 2019, serving in Kuwait and Iraq.

Johnson said that after Evans’ death, her family received condolences from state officials and commanders in the Texas National Guard. Letters of support and American flags rolled in from the public to honor Evans’ life — but no financial support.

She said she is supportive of Patterson and Huffman’s bill because it will help families in trying times.

“It changes your life when you lose someone,” she said. “No matter what the financial situation is of that family that’s left behind, this death benefit will help, it will definitely help.”

Her family met with Patterson’s office and agreed to name the bill after her grandson. But Johnson still has questions about how the state is improving conditions for troops and would like to be more involved. She said she often prays with parents of some of the troops who had been in JROTC with Evans and are still at the border.

Meanwhile, Johnson said her family is still waiting for answers about Evans’ death.

“I’m still working to get an official report of what happened,” she said.

With thousands of troops still at the border, Johnson said she also wants to know if conditions have improved for service members on the mission.

“I would like to find out what’s going on,” she said. “Has there been anything that would make the soldiers safer? What about those flotation devices? What about the equipment that they need? What about better living quarters? I would like to really follow up to see, was his death … is there anything coming out of it? Have we learned anything?”