VA and DoD Seek More Compatibility

The secretary of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs requested more compatibility with the U.S. Department of Defense. This was prompted by a necessity to provide better service to veterans. The secretary seeks for the paperwork for disabled soldiers to push through the system faster. This involves making VA’s VISTA system and the DoD’s AHLTA system more in-sync.

Retired General Eric K. Shinseki spoke to over 2,000 Army healthcare professionals at the Army Medical Symposium, located in San Antonio, Texas, on July 22. He was specifically addressing this issue.

Veterans are at the top of the nation when it comes to homelessness, depression, substance abuse and suicide. The VA and DoD recognize flaws in the system and seek to rectify these statistics. They claim it should not take 6 to 12 months to process a healthcare request.

What does this mean for prospective college students? The Post 9/11 GI Bill has a relationship that is shared between the VA and the DoD, similar to military healthcare.With greater compatibility between the two divisions, processing for family transferability could pick up. The family transferability option of the Post 9/11 GI Bill is handled by the DoD and then passed to the VA, so it is a hopeful prediction that the backlogging in this process will also be addressed as the VA and DoD work closer together.

To learn more about the discussion of compatibility, visit this Army.mil article. The Free Government Information blog also looks at the overlapping populace of the VA and DoD.