The Iraq War began 21 years ago. Though the Biden administration claims that the combat mission has “ended,” troops are still on the ground in Iraq training Iraqi security forces, a mission that puts their lives in unnecessary danger. The hundreds of attacks U.S. troops have faced in Iraq and across the Middle East since October shows that the risks are still very real. Are those troops stationed all over Iraq to support vital American interests? No. We do not need permanent boots on the ground to protect our homeland from credible terrorist threats that could come from the Middle East. U.S. f ..read more

We’ve all been there. Veterans who use the Department of Veterans Affairs for their health care are all too familiar with the extensive wait times for medical appointments. Average wait times can be from a few days to a few months for needed care.   And even if we’re able to schedule an appointment relatively soon, the VA regularly cancels appointments without our knowledge and schedules us much further out. Then the waits continue.  On March 5, VA access is expanding through the PACT Act to veterans who’ve experienced toxic exposure. These veterans will be eligible for VA care ..read more

The House Veterans Affairs Committee into accusations of sexual harassment at the department and the VA’s failure to adequately investigate those claims. Last fall, several whistleblowers alerted HVAC about alleged sexual harassment by supervisors that had been festering for months in the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity, and Inclusion. HVAC reached out to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, but he didn’t give the committee an answer for weeks. At the hearing in February, McDonough said he didn’t remember seeing the report on harassment in the office and took ownership of the failures. Ye ..read more

Community care is a vital part of the veterans health care system. It mandates an avenue for veterans to get the care in the community they need when they need it, rather than VA-provided care being their only option.   But the VA is concerned with its self-preservation and would prefer community care, which Congress directed the VA to allow veterans to use when wait and drive times are too long, only be used as a last resort.  An internal video from VA leadership, just released by a whistleblower, reveals just how deep the VA’s dismissal of veterans’ best interests goes.  ..read more

For more than 15 years, the federal government’s Veterans Crisis Line has been a resource for former military members who need an immediate connection to specially trained mental health responders. While the resource has helped many veterans, it isn’t perfect. And, like many top-down programs with no competition, it can take months or years to address systemic problems.  A San Antonio veteran died as a result of this inertia, USA Today reported.   The VA Office of the Inspector General investigated the events leading up to that death and found hotline administrators made signifi ..read more

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a duty and responsibility to provide needed care and benefits to veterans. But misconduct, harassment, and a lack of accountability consistently get in the way of that mission.  The House Veterans Affairs Committee recently voted to subpoena documents regarding sexual harassment in the VA’s Office for Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion. Seems like the last place where harassment would have been taking place, but alas.  Last year, two whistleblowers alerted members of Congress to “unwarranted sexually suggestive and aggressive message ..read more

In a time when the Vietnam War was raging, and many Americans were taking out their anger on the fighters rather than the war, it would have been easy to stay home.  But Frank Lagana was a faithful Marine who didn’t shy away from a fight.  Decades later, when he reached out to the VA to cover illnesses related to his service, he was met with a shocking response – there was no record of him having served.  His bullet wound begged to differ.    Veteran made to prove service in Vietnam  Thirty years ago, Lagana was shot in the leg while serving as a Marine in Vietnam ..read more

Montana is becoming a prime destination for more and more veterans and their families. But are the state’s Veterans Affairs facilities prepared to help those that call Montana home?  Two veterans’ spouses sat down to share their stories of struggles with the VA.  In TJ’s heartfelt account, he shares his wife’s struggle to secure community care, only to be redirected to a VA facility in Colorado. The distances and hurdles imposed on them made her health challenges more difficult.  Similarly, Heidi recounts her husband’s ordeal—travelling eight hours across the state for routine ..read more

If you’re a faithful follower of Concerned Veterans for America, you’ve read a #VAFail or two this year.   But what is the worst of the worst?  From bullying good employees out of their jobs to actively hiding information from FOIA requests to fatal mishandling of care, it’s been a year of failure at the VA. And while there are laws in place to hold the VA accountable and give veterans access to community care, the VA has proven time and again it has one priority – itself.  Here’s a look at the top #VAFails we covered in 2023.    VA employee sheds light on a dream job ..read more

I came to this country like thousands of others, an immigrant from a communist country in search of a better life. My grandfather would come home to Cuba from Florida to visit, and I remember listening to all his stories about this free country so different from my own. As a child, I struggled with my health. It was often difficult to see doctors and get appointments because of the controlled, bureaucratic way all things run in a communist country. Cuba was a country of limitations. America, on the other hand, was the country of dreams, and I couldn’t wait to go. My family joined my grandfathe ..read more