TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

VA says its working to meet vets' needs

ADVERTISEMENT

By LINDSAY PETERSON

lpeterson@tampatrib.com

Published: November 7, 2009

TAMPA - There's "no way" to explain the mass shooting at Fort Hood Army base in Texas, Eric Shinseki, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said in Tampa on Friday.

"This is senseless," Shinseki said.

The gunman suspected in attack that killed 13 people and wounded at least 30 was an Army major who had never seen combat, not a war veteran suffering from battlefield trauma, he noted.

Shinseki, a Vietnam veteran, served at Fort Hood from 1994-95, commanding the First Cavalry Division. The base is tightly controlled, he said.

"Day-to-day, that level of security is more than adequate," he said.

Shinseki was at the University of South Florida to talk about the needs of veterans who return to college. He said the VA is developing a wide-ranging effort to provide veterans with education, job training, housing and mental health services.

He expects his department to receive $3.2 billion next year to fight homelessness among veterans, with more than three-fourths of the money going toward mental health services.

The focus of his remarks in Tampa was the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect in August. It provides more money for tuition than the earlier bill, plus stipends for living expenses.

A key feature of the effort is the VetSuccess on Campus program, which is being tested at USF. A counselor is based at USF to help veterans find the services they need, from housing assistance to mental health care.

VetSuccess soon will be expanded to San Diego State University and Cleveland State University.

Overall, the new GI bill has the potential to change society as dramatically as the original GI bill did after World War II, Shinseki said.

In the years after World War II, the GI bill enabled hundreds of thousands of people to go to college. They became doctors, dentists, teachers, engineers and accountants, and they built a nation.

With the new bill, "history is poised to repeat itself." Shinseki said. By 2011, he expects more than 250,000 men and women to be pursing an education through the program.

Thousands are using it already, though many are waiting for their payments to come through.

Shinseki apologized for that, saying the VA is struggling with a severe backlog because of its "paper-bound" system.

"We're playing catch-up and we know it," he said.

Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT