Hopefully other states will follow:
A new alert system for missing veterans has been implemented in the state of Kentucky. In this year’s 2019 Regular Session, state leaders introduced and passed a bill for
green alerts — a statewide alert system for missing veterans deemed to be at risk.
Green Alerts were signed into law under Senate Bill 55. After the bill passed 37-0 in the House and 100-0 in the Senate, Governor Matt Bevin signed the bill into law on March 22, 2019.
“Veterans at risk means a veteran or an active duty member of the Armed Forces, National Guard or a military reserve component of the United States who is known to have a physical or mental health condition,” the bill states. “[Mental health conditions] include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is related to his or service.”
Owensboro Police Department Public Information Officer Andrew Boggess said the green alert differentiate from amber and golden alerts for obvious reasons — amber alerts represent minors who are missing and believed to be in danger of abduction, while golden alerts are used when someone who has a medical or cognitive disability goes missing, regardless of age — but also for deeper reasons that relate to the specifics in how emergency responders seek these individuals.
Veterans who are at risk often suffer from poor mental health, and finding those missing veterans requires an understanding of PTSD and other issues often suffered by veterans, such as alcohol and drug abuse.
New green alert law focuses on veterans missing and at risk in Kentucky - The Owensboro Times