VFW Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Military Suicide

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans, applauded the president’s signing of an executive order this morning designed to curb military and veteran suicide and improve the delivery of mental health resources to our nation’s heroes.

“Today, more American service members die by their own hands than at the hands of our enemies, which is why the VFW is proud to see our commander-in-chief taking action to address this national crisis,” said VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton. “Long, repeat deployments through more than a decade of war have taken an immeasurable toll on our nation’s newest generation of heroes. We have an obligation to care for these brave men and women when they return from the front lines, and we think this executive order will be a critical step in fulfilling that obligation.”

The executive order, “Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members and Military Families,” which President Obama announced during a visit to Fort Bliss in Texas, includes nearly a dozen specific initiatives designed to improve mental health resources and intervention tools.

Among the initiatives included in the executive order, VA and its partner agencies are directed to increase the capacity of the veteran crisis line, 1-800-273-8255; leverage training initiatives to hire 800 peer-to-peer counselors and 1,600 mental health professionals by June 2013; ensure veterans in crisis receive care within 24 hours; develop a National Research Action Plan across federal agencies to improve early intervention for those suffering from invisible wounds; and create an Interagency Task Force reporting directly to the White House on strategies to improve outreach and intervention for veterans, service members, and their families.

The VFW fully supports the president’s vision to prevent military suicides and improve mental health care delivery, but Hamilton also expressed concerns about potential funding shortfalls to accomplish the president’s goals.

“We hope that as VA and the Pentagon work with their partner agencies to deliver on these initiatives, that a comprehensive plan is in place to fund it without negatively affecting the continuum of care that our veterans rely on,” said Hamilton, who received three Purple Hearts for wounds sustained as a Marine Corps rifleman in Vietnam. “This morning the president pledged to help the brave military men and women who continue to suffer in silence, and the VFW stands ready to assist the Administration in delivering on this pledge.”

To read the executive order, click here.

VFW Joins Defense and VA Officials to Discuss Suicide Prevention

This week, the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs hosted their joint annual suicide prevention conference in Washington, D.C. VFW Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker was on hand for a number of presentations, including this afternoon's intriguing remarks about post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“Secretary Panetta reinforced many of the hallmarks of our public message” said Barker, who handles military health policy issues for the VFW Washington office. "To the VFW, the alarming suicide rates we've seen among today's veterans indicate that we still haven't done enough to properly identify and treat invisible wounds. It will take a concerted effort on the part of the military, VA, Congress, and veterans' advocates to sufficiently address this issue, and we are encouraged to see so many agencies coming together to discuss this issue."

Panetta discussed his four pillars for addressing the mental health challenges our military personnel and veterans endure: Improving leadership, ensuring access to quality treatment; achieving parity between mental and physical health in all aspects of military culture, and emphasizing research into the brain within DoD.

“Secretary Panetta referred to PTSD as ‘the signature unseen wound’ of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Barker. “This is an important distinction, as it brings into focus the importance of actively going out and identifying mental health challenges within the ranks without minimizing the need to address the multitudes of other very serious injuries in these conflicts, such as traumatic eye injury, traumatic brain injury, and serious hearing loss.”

Secretary Panetta and others stressed the importance of working more closely with VA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the private sector.

Your VFW will continue to watch the changing approach to mental health services very closely to ensure improved services and outcomes for all military personnel and veterans. In the meantime, If you are a veteran in crisis, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week though the Veterans Crisis Line. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press “1” to speak to someone now. You can also log on to www.veteranscrisisline.net for confidential chat or text a message to 838255.

VFW Discusses Veterans Issues With House Democrats

Yesterday VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley joined leaders from many of the nation’s top veterans’ organizations at the U.S. Capitol for a roundtable discussion on military and veterans’ issues with House Democratic leadership.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hosts the discussions each quarter to hear first-hand from veterans’ organizations about issues affecting service members, veterans and their loved ones. More than 30 organizations representing diverse interests across the military and veterans’ community were invited to join in the discussion on topics ranging from mental health care and surviving spouse benefits to Agent Orange exposure, the Post-9/11 GI Bill and federal budget constraints.

In his remarks, Kelley called attention to the recent VA Inspector General report on VA’s failure to deliver timely mental health care to veterans suffering from invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Kelley recognized that VA planned to hire 1,900 additional staff in an effort to overcome shortfalls, but asked Democrats and fellow veterans’ advocates what more could be done to ensure that veterans who need care can receive it in a timely and efficient manner.

In response to Kelley’s comments, Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said he remains VA’s biggest advocate, but also its harshest critic. As a retired Army National Guard sergeant major and vocal advocate on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Walz said he and his fellow committee members will continue to hold VA accountable for their obligation to meet the mental health needs of the veterans’ community, and that if the agency needed more resources to accomplish its mission, his committee would continue to fight for them.

The VFW always welcomes dialogue over veterans’ issues with leaders on both sides of the aisle, which is why Kelley thanked each of the members in attendance for their attention to the issues facing the American veterans’ community. As the current conflicts draw down and Americans ask Congress to make difficult decisions on the national budget, your VFW will continue to advocate to continually improve and preserve the quality-of-life programs and benefits earned through the sacrifices of American military men and women. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Images: Top: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, center, welcomes veterans' advocates and House Democratic leaders to the quarterly roundtable discussion on veterans' issues. Middle: VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley discusses PTSD during yesterday's roundtable. Bottom: Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., shares his thoughts on PTSD treatment issues at yesterday's roundtable. Photos by Ryan Gallucci.)

Watch Live: Senate Hosts Hearing on Vets' Mental Health Care

UPDATE: The archived webcast from yesterday's hearing is now available on the Senate VA Committee's Web site. To view a full list of witnesses, read their prepared remarks, and view the archived webcast, click here. 

This morning the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will host a hearing to evaluate the ease-of-access for veterans seeking mental health care at VA facilities. The hearing comes in the wake of an alarming report from the VA's Office of the Inspector General, indicating that VA may have misled Congress and the veterans' community on how it ensured prompt access to care for veterans seeking treatment for mental health conditions.

Your VFW will be on hand when the hearing is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building room 138. To view a live webcast of the hearing on the committee's home page, click here.

VA policy dictates that veterans who seek treatment for mental health must be seen with 14 days of requesting treatment. However, the report, which can be read here, claims that VA misrepresented how it tracked whether or not veterans received treatment in a timely manner, many times only starting the 14-day clock from the earliest date on which a veteran physically entered a VA facility for treatment.

For example, if a veteran were to contact VA on April 1 to seek treatment, VA could offer an appointment date on April 16. If the veteran accepted the April 16 appointment and was actually treated in a VA clinic on April 16, VA would report that the veteran waited zero days for his or her treatment, as opposed to the actual 15-day waiting period.

As a result, OIG determined that VA's reports on wait times and treatments were neither accurate nor reliable, and called on the VA Undersecretary of Health to revise policies to clarify how patient scheduling and treatment should be tracked and identify staffing shortfalls that may impede timely treatment.

Senate VA Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash.,  and Ranking Member Richard Burr, R-S.C., called for the IG report. The results come less than a week after VA pledged to hire an additional 1,900 mental health care personnel to include marriage and family therapists and licensed professional mental health counselors.

VFW leaders were disturbed at the report that VA may have misled the public and the veterans’ community on how it delivers mental health care. Your VFW will continue to keep its finger on the pulse of this critical issue, putting pressure on VA officials and leaders in Congress to take decisive action. Check back regularly for updates.