(Washington, D.C. ) – “I am pleased to announce that Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) has accepted the invitation to become the first dues-paying Associate Member of the recently formed Veterans Coalition,” VVA National President John Rowan said.  The Coalition is behind the efforts of the new Commission on the Future of America’s Veterans, which held its inaugural meeting yesterday in the Cannon House Office Building.  

“We are in total agreement with Coalition President Harry Walters, former Administrator of the Veterans Administration, the precursor to the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Rowan said.  “Mr. Walters has noted that, ‘Too often our government gets bogged down in short-term cycles of elections and budgets,’ with ‘strategic planning often restricted to less than two years.’ 

“The purpose and goal of the Veterans Coalition, and the commission, is to take a longer view of things, to set a strategic direction for the VA in providing benefits and services to the next generations of veterans,” Rowan said.  “There really is no long-range planning by the VA, or vision as to where its programs and services ought to be in ten or 20 years. 

“In 20 years, the World War II veterans will mostly have died and been replaced by a very different population of older Vietnam veterans, veterans of the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and veterans of future conflicts that we can only imagine today,” Rowan said.  “And many of these veterans will be members of the Reserves and National Guard.  On Veterans’ Day we remember and honor veterans of every generation, but at the same time we must be planning for future needs of those serving today and who will serve in the future. 

“VVA believes that the Veterans Coalition will fill a very real need in the veterans’ community, and we’re pleased to be part of this effort,” Rowan concluded.  

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