Veterans Affairs and veteran issues were the focus of Voices United of Rural Linn County’s Wednesday, May 28, gathering. Guest speaker was Mike Woods, the commander of the Hahn-Howard 490 post, veteran and worker at the Veterans Administration in Johnson County.
Woods gave a background on the VA program and how it originated.
“The United States has always had a level of veteran care,” Woods said. “Originally, the country had a level of decentralized militias.”
In 1917, the number of veterans increased from 140,000 to more than 8 million, with many participating in World War I.
“There were a lot of casualties in World War I, and there was a slow consensus to what health care was needed,” Woods said.
That got the country through World War I, the 1920s and the Great Depression.
And then, World War II happened, where more than 16 million veterans participated.
“And that’s when the first G.I. Bill was passed,” woods said. “The focus of that was to bring these men back to society.”
That bill provided upward mobility to a number of veterans, including the ability to go to college or get loans for first homes or businesses.
Woods said since that original bill, the G.I. Bill changes depending on who is in charge.
“What we have now is very beneficial to those who have participated in the global war on terror,” Woods said.
One of the areas that the VA has worked with has been on the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which increased benefits to soldiers who were exposed to Agent Orange or other cancerous materials.
Woods said that DOGE’s cuts to staffing will have an impact on the local VA.
“We won’t know how severely our organization has been impacted until the end of June,” Woods said. “We are already shorthanded as an organization.”
Woods said that after the initial hiring pause proposed by DOGE, they realized that they needed nurses and doctors to continue to be hired.
Woods said one of the biggest things to note – the shorthanded staff is making it tougher to schedule events in a timely manner.
The cuts made were trying to bring the organization back to 2019 levels, which would not be enough.
Woods said that he continues his job, like many in the organization, because it’s the right thing to do.
“We all love our jobs and the care we’re providing to our veterans,” Woods said.
When it came to statements Pete Hegseth has made pertaining to the veterans who apply for every benefit they are entitled to.
“Injuries happen to veterans as part of their service,” Woods said. “Hegseth was lucky that he wasn’t injured and needed benefits for his service.”
The programs in place are there for a reason, Woods continued, and veterans should apply for those items they need following their service.
Areas of concern are the suicide hotline being eliminated will have an impact on issues for veterans as well.
A question from an audience member asked about the workers being asked to return from a work from home situation.
Woods said that is one of the struggles is finding space in the clinics for personnel.
Woods was also clear to note that impacts to the VA don’t just happen under Republicans, but during both administrations.
Gerald Monk, a veteran, said the one minor issue he has with the VA is that it takes them a while to get to new veterans into a more close clinic.
“I’m originally from Grundy Center, so when I moved down here, my options are still traveling to Waterloo,” Monk said.
Woods explained that one of the things to note is that veterans do have the ability to get care at facilities in their community if they can not get into a VA facility.
“The one thing I’ve learned working at the VA is how one person missing an appointment explodes exponentially on who it impacts,” Woods said.
And while there is a new national vets facility being built in California, many veterans struggle to get to a center 20 miles away because they sometimes struggle to have enough gas in their vehicle to make it to that appointment.