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| Me, back in the day as an F4-C Aircraft Maintenance Officer |
I am a proud U.S. Air Force Veteran, having taken the oath on September 9th, 1980 at the Medina Annex of Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas. My time in the service set up a great career and a great life. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve and for all of the benefits that I have received as a Veteran, from the GI Bill and job opportunities, to the eligibility for healthcare through the US Department of Veterans Affairs. But now, things are changing and I don’t think most people are aware of these changes or what they mean for Veterans like myself.
On September 11th of this year – the 25th anniversary of 9/11 - the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released report #26-01046-271, confirming severe staffing shortages at every VA hospital in the country. The following key findings of the report are copied directly from the report summary without any changes:
- In fiscal year (FY) 2026, which runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, VHA officials reported a total of 4,712 severe occupational staffing shortages.
- VHA officials reported that 97 percent of facilities had severe occupational staffing shortages for Medical Officer occupations, and 86 percent of facilities had severe shortages for Nurse occupations.
- Practical Nurse was the most frequently reported clinical severe occupational staffing shortage in FY 2026, the most frequently reported Hybrid Title 38 occupation, and the most frequently reported severe shortage occupation overall, with VHA officials reporting for 59 percent of facilities.
- Police was reported as a shortage by VHA officials for 57 percent of facilities, making it the most frequently reported nonclinical shortage occupation.
- All 139 VHA facilities identified staffing shortages.
These findings should concern every veteran, veteran family member, and voter. Now please understand, the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not an outside partisan group trying to score political points. It is the internal watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The timing of the release of this report appears to have been intentional, to ensure it didn’t get the attention it otherwise would have. The findings in are report are a disgrace and a slap in the face to those who have served.
Though the VA has had staffing shortages for years, these serious VA staffing shortages come after significant reductions in VA’s workforce and restrictions on federal hiring. Throughout 2025 and 2026, the Trump administration leveraged DOGE to aggressively downsize the federal workforce. VA announced last year it would cut nearly 30,000 employees through attrition, early retirements, deferred resignations and the federal hiring freeze. The administration also adopted a government-wide goal of four employee departures for every new hire. Efforts to improve efficiency should never mean arbitrarily firing the doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and support personnel who care for our nation’s wounded and disabled veterans.
Why do I bring this to your attention? Well, we have midterm elections coming up in the US and many candidates are falsely claiming to support Veterans. Those claims are in spite of the fact that they were 100% and very publicly in favor of the DOGE cuts that now make it harder for our nation's Veterans to obtain the medical treatment that they earned and are entitled to. I’m talking about Veterans with cancer, PTSD and other conditions that require swift and aggressive treatment.
In Southwest Virginia, Congressmen Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith claim that they support Veterans, but their public comments and voting record says otherwise. To them, I offer the following expression that I learned in the Air Force - Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.
If you are a Veteran, or just support Veterans, this should matter to you and should definitely influence who you vote for. There’s a lot more I could write about how current and proposed policies are chipping away at Veteran’s benefits - that sacred trust between our government and the people who serve in our military.
Have you or a family member ever served in the military? Do you believe that our current policies have helped or hurt Veterans? Please share your thoughts in the comments. I hope our conversation will be thoughtful, respectful and productive.
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Thank you for reading—and for walking this road with me. Go vote.
