Dear Madame/Mr.President:

We as Americans have a duty and a responsibility to show the utmost gratitude, respect and thankfulness for our country's bravest men and women who sacrificed everything for our safety and well being. Our great nation's active duty, reserves and retired military should receive the highest quality health care out of anyone in this nation because of the sacrifice that they will always be willing to make for America's safety. 

Though many people would believe that America’s government provides the best of health care for the brave men and women that protect us; the reality of this matter is not exactly what the majority of people would expect. I am sure that it is your intention as the President of the United States to show your appreciation for the people that serve you directly, and not only follow your every order, but swear an oath to die or be imprisoned rather than disobey their leader in which they have entrusted their lives; I have personally taken this oath and beg you to take this matter seriously. The Veterans Association as a whole has not provided care up to the standard that our nation’s military deserves and this is likely one of the greatest issues you will face at the beginning of and throughout your term as our president.

Many people have the perception that the VA provides the best care, and that they have some of the finest facilities available; though this is true in some cases, a large amount of the VA’s facilities are not necessarily up to par. Often their places of operation lack sufficient staff and available space for all of the people that need care. Over 50% of the time, veterans and active duty military have to wait over a month to get an appointment. I have personally interviewed one of my coworker’s who is a retired air force special forces combat controller, Ryan Baker. He tore his right bicep while working on his car- in most medical professional’s opinions this would be a fairly high priority patient. He had to wait two weeks to get an appointment with the VA and then he had to wait another month to get surgery to reattach his ligament. In most people's opinion’s this would be considered an outrageous wait time for such a procedure.

Another problem with the VA is the leadership. The leader of the VA very clearly is having issues keeping the VA running smoothly. If the VA was being operated properly it would be staffed correctly, funded sufficiently, and would have reasonable waiting times.

A large majority of people would agree that a great way to correct or improve these problems would be to change the leadership for the Veterans Association. Personally I think of the VA as a really big team, and I can tell you from personal experiences that if team does not have a good coach, it will not function to its fullest capacity. A lot of Americans would agree that a change in leadership would greatly improve the productivity and quality of care that our veterans receive.

Sincerely,

Gage