Veterans Day is an occasion for sober reflection on what the American military is asked to do and on the long-term implications of that service. As a war-torn 2014 nears its close, it’s all the more sobering to look ahead to the sacrifices of the future.
On Friday, the Pentagon announced that President Barack Obama had authorized the dispatch of 1,500 more troops to Iraq, as part of the mission to counter the Islamic State militants. That will double the American presence in Iraq, and although they are assigned to the same advisory role, citizens of a certain age remember how many U.S. military engagements start in this way.
The very real concern is that this one could escalate easily and add to the numbers of veterans coming home to a difficult adjustment.
This is no small tally for Hawaii, which is home to 120,000 veterans as well as its active-duty military population.
But what is heartening is that there is recognition of how poorly war vets have been guided on their transition home, and a concerted effort to correct that failing.
Earlier this year a scandal broke about delays in treatment plaguing the Department of Veterans Affairs health-care delivery system, with some veterans in other jurisdictions dying while waiting for care.
On the eve of the holiday, VA Secretary Robert McDonald announced a streamlining of the customer-service operation aimed at bettering access for the 22 million veterans it serves.
Improvement was a particular imperative in Hawaii because the backlog here was the worst. In January, it was taking 145 days for a new enrollee to start receiving VA benefits, but last week officials announced that wait time was cut to 35 days.
Hawaii VA Director Wayne Pfeffer also cited the good marks the region received on quality reviews, adding that the consolidation of VA services in single locations on Maui and Kauai is in the works. New or expanded quarters are being planned for VA facilities in Hilo and Kailua-Kona as well.
Congressional action has paved the way for a new Leeward Oahu ambulatory care center. And among the elements of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act is the creation of the Veterans Choice Cards, which give veterans access to private care if they can’t secure an appointment within 30 days or live more than 40 miles from a VA health facility.
Other features of the law:
» Imposes new penalties for VA employees who falsify data regarding access to care or quality measures — a practice that the scandal unearthed.
» Enables independent and transparent reviews of VA programs, organizations and business practices.
» Authorizes VA contracts with the federal Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems to allow reimbursement of direct care services.
The challenges faced by Hawaii’s vets go far beyond the quest for timely medical care, however. Unemployment persists among this population, as does homelessness. Current estimates are that on any given day, more than 590 homeless vets are living in the streets or are in shelters or transitional housing.
These urgent needs drove social service agencies, in partnership with the VA, the state’s Office of Veteran Services, to conduct a homeless veteran outreach on Thursday, which brought the vets direct support in job-hunting skills, securing housing vouchers and other critical assists.
The fondest hope of a nation scarred by the economic and social wounds of war is that the need to engage America’s men and women in brutal conflicts would be rare in the future, that there would be fewer people joining the ranks of war veterans.
For the present, however, America owes a debt to those who did serve. The improvements noted here represent a small, but important, down payment.
