washingtonscene
when it comes to integrating electronic medical records with DoD’s system, but there’s still work to be done. “We are now focused on modernizing our information technology (IT) systems, so you’re going to see some new and bold proposals to be able to make sure that VA continues to have high-quality modern IT systems,” Shulkin said. Stopping suicide. Too many veterans are taking their own lives, and the VA is on a mission to stop it — but the VA can’t do it alone, Shulkin said. “We need everyone’s help,” Shulkin
said. “We need to work with the commu- nity and we need to get the messages out to get people help.” He said VA officials will release new antisuicide campaigns in coming weeks, and the VA will be “taking a leadership role in this across the country,” he said. “Suicide prevention is our top clinical priority right now,” Shulkin said. “It’s an area where we are not satisfied.” Appeals modernization. Appealing a VA claim can take years, and it will require an act of Congress to fix that. “We know the appeals process is bro-
prevention is our top clinical priority right now.
“ Suicide
— Secretary of the VA Dr. David Shulkin
”
ken — we can only fix it through legisla- tion,” Shulkin said. “We’re going to make sure that we work hard to get that done this year.” VA officials need to partner with Con-
gress to get many of the department’s programs fixed. That might be difficult for Shulkin, who admits he doesn’t like to sit around and wait for progress. “I used to always say to my teams when I worked in the private sector, ‘What’s it going to take to get this done, an act of Congress?’ ” he said. “Now, of course, the irony is that everything that I do takes an act of Congress.” Internal improvements. Despite some of the roadblocks that cause things to move slowly within the VA, Shulkin said
36 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2017
there’s still room for internal improve- ments. While veterans’ satisfaction with the VA has been on the rise, the secretary said their work is far from done. “We are not satisfied with our perfor-
mance,” he said. “Even though we’ve made terrific progress on bringing down our backlog, we think we can do a lot better.”
National Guard and Reserve
M
Priorities MOAA sponsors congressional event for Guard and Reserve.
OAA, along with partners in The Military Coalition, spon- sored an event March 8 with
the House National Guard and Reserve Caucus. The meeting, hosted by Reps. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), brought together leaders from the Guard and Reserve communities to share their priorities with members of Congress and military and veterans ser- vice organizations. The chiefs of the National Guard Bu-
reau, Army National Guard, and Navy, Army, and Air Force reserves, as well as the commander of Marine Forces Re- serve and the director of Reserve and Military Personnel for the Coast Guard Reserve, all were in attendance. Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey, USAR, said
the Army’s war plans include the rapid use of the Guard and Reserve forces. He explained: “We are looking at different combat environments where every do- main will be contested, so we need the Guard and Reserve capabilities to match those of active duty. The rear is not the rear anymore, and it’s not secure.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92