Veteran advocacy leader defends Trump's shake-ups at VA, calls for reform to support veterans

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump's Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, has projected a 15% workforce simplification with a extremity of cutting 80,000 jobs astatine the VA. 

Retired Lt. Col. Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Roll Call, a seasoned advocacy non-profit, said specified VA betterment is indispensable to amended veterans' lives crossed the United States. 

Whaley told Fox News Digital that veterans privation to spot little bureaucracy astatine the VA and much "community care" to chopped hold times and summation services astatine section VA hospitals, but "if it was easy, idiosyncratic would person solved it."

"Every American and politician, from some sides of the aisle, tin hold that we privation to marque definite we instrumentality attraction of our veterans," Whaley said. "We conscionable got retired of implicit 20 years of war, truthful determination are a batch of veterans and their families that request help. We privation to marque definite that each dollar that the American payer is paying to enactment the VA is spent wisely, and that veterans are getting the attraction that they need. And much importantly, that they're getting the attraction erstwhile they request it, wherever they request it and however they request it."

'CHANGES THAT ACTUALLY HELP OUR VETERANS': VA SECRETARY DEFENDS PROPOSED 15% WORKFORCE REDUCTION

Lt. Col. Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Roll Call, told Fox News Digital that betterment is indispensable to amended veterans' lives crossed the United States. (Getty/Fox News Digital)

The VA serves lone half of U.S. veterans. While Whaley said Collins is trying to scope the different 50% done TV and podcast appearances, helium encouraged much transparency astir the VA's services to scope the different fractional of veterans who inactive request care. 

"One 100 days into the 2nd Trump administration, and VA is nary longer contented with mediocre results. Under President Trump’s leadership, we person already stripped distant galore of the costly distractions that were coming betwixt VA beneficiaries and the benefits they person earned. And we’re looking to marque adjacent much historical reforms to amended service our veterans," Collins said. 

Trump and Collins person faced contention successful the media and among Democrats for cutting VA jobs and for their efforts to overhaul the department. Whaley, whose enactment conducts seasoned polling, said much than fractional of veterans are disquieted astir VA cuts. 

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"When each you perceive is astir the cuts versus what the doctrine is down wherefore you're making those changes successful an organization, there's going to beryllium fear. Change is hard. It's important that the VA stays arsenic transparent arsenic imaginable and reports connected what is being done and what improvements are being made," Whaley said. 

However, Whatley, a seasoned himself, said each veterans privation to spot an improved VA. 

A U.S. Army and Vietnam War seasoned attends a Memorial Day event. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

"They privation to spot services improve, they privation to spot hold times reduced. As clip goes connected and Veterans Affairs pass much and much with veterans, they volition cognize a small spot astir what's going on, and they'll beryllium a small little anxious astir it. I deliberation it's each astir making definite that veterans are getting the news, making definite they recognize wherefore they're making these cuts."

Whaley encouraged Collins and the VA to see much veterans successful the conversations surrounding the VA's betterment by listening to families and caregivers to larn however to champion put successful seasoned care. 

"Veteran affairs are precise important to recruitment issues, and that, of course, affects nationalist security. So they're not each separate, it each wraps together. When a seasoned gets retired of the work aft a fewer years of serving their country, we person to marque definite that the modulation to the civilian satellite and uncovering a occupation and plugging into the assemblage goes smoothly, due to the fact that if we don't, past we person an issue," Whaley said. 

Signage extracurricular the Department of Veterans Affairs office successful Washington. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

According to the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, much than 17 veterans committed termination per time successful 2021. 

"We request to get the fig of suicides arsenic adjacent to zero arsenic possible. That's the fig 1 priority," Whaley said, adding that assemblage attraction is besides a apical priority, truthful veterans don't person to thrust agelong distances and hold a agelong clip to get the services they need. 

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"We request to marque definite that the Department of Defense and the VA are moving unneurotic erstwhile veterans are transitioning retired of the subject to marque definite they're plugged into the VA and that the modulation goes well. Because the information of the substance is, the bulk of suicides among veterans are from veterans that person precocious transitioned to the civilian world."