Veterans

avAllen is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, NC. He was a reserve Captain and was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command performing civil affairs and psychological operations missions. Allen served in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. He commanded one of the first units to enter Fallujah, assigned to rebuild that city and win the hearts and minds of its citizens. While there, Allen served as the de facto mayor of Fallujah.

After six months of operations in Fallujah, Allen was transferred to Sadr City, Baghdad, to teach legislative process to multiple tribal and neighborhood councils and to help train the new Iraqi military. While transporting two daughters of a local tribal leader to an American hospital, Allen’s convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device and small arms ambush. Allen was awarded the Purple Heart and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve as a result of his injuries. Allen was also awarded the Combat Action Badge, Valorous Unit Award and numerous other awards for his service.

Vaught Serves as Vice Chairman

Allen was appointed Vice Chair of the Defense and Veterans’ Affairs Committee for the 81st Legislative Aession. As a veteran, this appointment serves as the perfect opportunity for him to bring his leadership skills from the field to the Texas House.

Legislative Accomplishments

Representative Vaught voted for legislation supporting our veterans:

  • Providing disabled veterans with a property tax exemption on the total appraised value of their residence.
  • Establishing a scratch-off lottery ticket to benefit the fund for Veterans’ Assistance and the Texas Veterans Commission.
  • Ensuring that state employees called to military service will continue to accrue vacation and sick leave even when the person is considered to be on unpaid leave because he or she is not entitled to differential pay.
  • Allowing military personnel and dependents overseas to email a scanned version of a federal postcard application to vote by absentee ballot.
Texas Armed Services Scholarship

Each year, the governor and the lieutenant governor will appoint two students and each state senator and representative will appoint one student to receive a scholarship to encourage and promote increased participation in ROTC programs at state colleges. HB 3452 authorizes conditional scholarships of $15,000 annually to students who participate in an ROTC program and deducts from the scholarship any amount paid to a student after contracting with any branch of the armed forces. Rep. Vaught worked with the author of the bill to include the sixteen private universities in the state that offer ROTC programs to encourage greater statewide participation.

Protecting Our Veterans When They Return Home

Allen worked to pass legislation that creates a military veterans peer-to-peer mental health program to provide counseling to military veterans. Peer-to-peer counseling may reduce the concerns about stigma or negative repercussions. Veterans can share their experiences in a supportive environment, knowing that others have had similar experiences. (SB 1325)

Resources For Veterans

Texas Veterans Commission
Texas Veterans Land Board
Texas State Veterans Benefits
TexVet
Texas Veterans Portal
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs