Our veterans deserve more than just Veterans Day

On the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice went into effect, ending World War I, and was celebrated as such in the United States until 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is an official public holiday, observed every year on Nov. 11, and honors military veterans, which according to the Census Bureau, number 18.5 million veterans in the United States. A large proportion of the veteran population, 9.2 million, are aged 65 and older, while 1.6 million are younger than 35.

Despite veterans having an annual holiday celebrating their heroism, troubling stories have plagued America for years that paint a grim picture of our U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

And, I’m not just talking about the lack of support we give our veterans re-entering society and the workforce. CNN reported that on average more than 22 veterans commit suicide every day. And not so long ago, the Veterans Health Administration was placed under investigation after reports of negligent handling of veterans seeking medical care by VA hospitals caused the death of dozens of veterans while awaiting treatment.

While a majority of veterans I had the opportunity to speak with said they valued their service and would do it again, most did not feel as if they received adequate support in reintegrating into civilian life.

“I had to figure out on my own what I was going to do for a career once I was discharged from the Navy. Luckily for me I had my health and a family to return home to that supported me” stated US Navy Petty Officer Second Class, Nathan Wiley of Glen Burnie, Maryland.

“Veterans have not escaped Washington’s dysfunction,” stated Former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley in his policy paper.

O’Malley, proposed a comprehensive veterans and military policy platform, which included ending veterans’ unemployment by 2020, overhauling healthcare offerings and ending “wrongful” military discharges related to post-traumatic stress disorder, the Military Times reported.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the a 292-page report “makes it abundantly clear that the problems plaguing Department of Veterans Affairs medical care are severe. Fixing them will require dramatic changes in how VA does business, to include expanding partnerships with community providers in order to give veterans more healthcare choices.”

The process to improve the VA has begun, but more is needed.

President Trump and Congress have signed into law the Veterans Choice Program Extension andImprovement Act to extend and improve the Choice Program, the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, streamlining the disciplinary process and giving VA extra authorities to hold senior leaders and employees accountable for failing to do their duty.

Other laws that have been passed are The VA Choice and Quality Employment Act, expanding VA’s direct-hiring authority to enable us to recruit the very best people, continue the Choice Program, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and ModernizationAct of 2017 to overhaul and modernize our claims appeals process and thereby provide better, faster decisions for veterans and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, or Forever GI Bill, improving veterans’ educational benefits in nearly a dozen different ways.

Even though the VA has been hard at work implementing these new laws and many other reforms, much more remains to be done.

Veterans Day is a day to honor to and reflect on the sacrifices of those who have served this nation in uniform and assess the nation’s efforts at keeping President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have“borne the battle.”

Our veterans deserve no less.