Is the VA Being Set Up for Failure?

The more I think about it, the more I get angry at the way Veterans and the Veterans Affairs (VA) are being treated. It appears that the Current Administration and Congress want the VA to fail. With the VA not having a leader since March it makes you wonder who’s running the ship. It is unlikely an interim leader, such as we have now, can control the VA and all its moving parts. If he/she makes a decision as the interim leader the VA employees will be skeptical about following because the decision will likely change once a new VA Secretary is chosen.

The last VA Administrator, David Shulkin was fired after 13 months on the job. Secretary Shulkin had his flaws, but it appears to me that he was making positive changes how ever small. He did not have the needed time to make any major changes. The VA is the largest health care provider in the nation and has the fifth largest budget of all United States agencies. It’s going to take time and continuity to turn the US’s fifth largest ship around. The VA’s secretary position being empty appears to not be a huge issue to some but it bothers me. Every day the VA does not have a permanent leader, is another day it will take to fix the problems at the VA. 

It is the administrations responsibility to place someone in the VA secretary position. It is congresses job to over see the VA and its inner workings. It does not matter who the VA secretary is. Congress controls the VA, its funding and oversight of the operation, and they are failing us. It feels like fixing the VA is not a top priority to them. Part of the problem might be that congress presently has the least number of veterans who have served in the military in history. The biggest thing that needs to change is the revolving door of VA secretaries. There have been 6 VA secretaries since 2014. The next one will be 7, and we don’t know who that will be. The present administration has fired 2 VA secretaries since taking office. There have been 2 acting secretaries in the present administration. It is not good for any organization to have such a high turnover, especially one as big as the VA. The previous administration had some continuity, there were 2 full time and one acting secretary in the 8 years. What needs to happen is to stop putting political appointees to the position. 

Political appointees are the yes men of the world. I know I disliked yes men while I was in the military. Political appointees make veterans a political football and subject to the divisive politics we have had for the last 8-10 years. In my humble opinion, we need an enlisted veteran with experience running a large corporation to give it a try. We have tried politicians, military officers, lawyers, and CEO’s or major corporations. Its time to try an enlisted person with a background in running a large organization. 

I know it is difficult to deal with the VA. But the VA will fail if we can’t get a VA secretary to stay in place for multiple years and under multiple presidential administrations. The person who is placed at the top of the VA should be there for a minimum of 5 years to be able to make necessary changes, and see them through. It is difficult for veterans to feel they are being taken care of if the rules and the leadership changes every year. I believe the secretary of the VA should not be a political appointee, they should be chosen by congress, voted on and approved by both houses, and agreed to by Veterans Service Organizations. No politicians should be placed as the secretary of the VA. We deserve to be given the best leadership possible, not some political buddy of the president from either party.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at bo@afterdutyvets.com or visit our website at afterdutyvets.com.