2024 Military Sexual Trauma National Training Symposium

Josh [Jacobs, Under Secretary for Benefits], thanks for that kind introduction, for your leadership, and for giving me the opportunity spend time with you and this team of great public servants.

This training is some of the most important, lifesaving training VA does. And getting it right is never easy. Expectations are necessarily and understandably very high, because the stakes for our Vets are so high. So let me recognize and give thanks to Melissa Cohen, Frank Wijngaarde, John Rochelle, Dr. Margret Bell, Dr. Jessica Keith, and everyone who made this important session happen. Your hard work here is fundamental to serving Veterans as well as they have served all of us.

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s good to be with you here in Music City. I’m so glad you could pull away for just a few days to be together, to get re-charged, and—as the theme of your symposium encourages—to Reconnect and Reimagine. I hear that to mean you will reconnect to the principles and processes of your work, and reimagine ways to reach Veterans, to connect with them, to serve them better and better.

So let me just say: more power to you. That you have taken on this very demanding job is awesome. That you are intentional about reconnecting to your principles and reimagining how to do your difficult job even better is admirable. And don’t miss the all-too-rare opportunities outside the scheduled training to talk to each other, to network and get to know each other, and make connections. Learn from each other, share your stories, your experiences, your best practices. It will make a difference for you. It will make you even stronger. And it will make a difference for Veterans.

This morning I was up in Louisville at the VFW’s 125^th National Convention. I reminded them that last year you’d delivered benefits and health care at a record pace. And I was so proud to tell them you’re breaking records once again this year.

Think about it for a second. Vets are applying for their benefits at record rates—to include MST claims. You’re working those claims faster than ever—on pace to match last year’s MST claim numbers. Already this fiscal year, you’ve completed over 2 million claims—a record—and granted benefits to 1.1 million Veterans … another record.

Let me drill down on MST claims, specifically. Since 2019, the number of Vets service-connected for MST receiving VBA Compensation benefits has doubled—from 61,000 to more than 128,000. Those numbers are tough to hear because they represent so much suffering. But they also show that more and more are hearing you, trusting you, coming to you for help, and getting it.

Vets’ MST claim grant rate is 62%—right at 65% for women Vets, 56.0% for the men, on par with the average grant rate for all claims. That’s an improvement from where we have been— 42% back in 2011. And that improvement is a function of your excellent work. More excellent work—MST claim quality is running at 97%. That, too, is up, and it’s higher than the broad average for all claims thanks to your commitment to keep learning and improving. In every case, I think we all agree that we can still improve, always get better for the Vets you’re serving. And that’s why this week is so important.

Year after year, you’re fighting harder for Vets, and you’re not letting up—delivering even more benefits and more care to more Vets than at any other time in our nation’s history. And I’m so grateful for that, which brings me to the one reason I came down here this afternoon.

One reason—to tell all of you how deeply grateful I am for the work that you do for Veterans, how thankful I am for the deep passion and enormous compassion you bring in fighting for them.

And you are fighting, for them. Sometimes, you’re fighting for them when every ounce of fight in them is gone, depleted, because of the excruciating emotional and, in some of the worst circumstances, the physical pain they’re enduring, that’s been imposed on them because their humanity’s been violated, and their trust shattered.

Thankfully—sometimes because of your outreach, sometimes because of their guardian angels, sometimes, both—you find them, or they find their way to you. Then, you listen. You put your arms around them. They may put their arms around you. And you … you selflessly begin bearing some of that heavy burden with them, for them. You show them a path to help, to some relief, and—we all hope—to some degree of recovery. And in doing that, you begin some healing, begin rebuilding that trust … helping pick up some of those pieces.

None of that is easy. The work you’ve chosen to do is some of the most emotionally demanding, often heart wrenching work VA does. And what you do—your commitment, your devotion, your willingness to give so much of yourselves to help Veterans, to help make some miracles, to strive relentlessly to bring some light to the lives of Vets who have been walking in darkness—well, you inspire me.

Here’s why. Listen to this. It’s a message from one of your Vets who—with her trust destroyed—put herself in your hands.

I just wanted to take a moment, she writes, to express my deepest gratitude for everything you and your team have done with for me and my VA claim.

It’s been a tough ride for me lately. Being an Army Vet, she said, I’ve always lived by the Soldier’s Creed—especially the part that says, “I will never leave a fallen comrade.” It’s clear to me that you and your team—she means all of you—share a similar commitment when it comes to looking after your Veterans.

The dedication you’ve shown in handling my case, ensuring I didn’t just become another number, is something I can’t thank you enough for. She said, This was the most nerve-racking experience, mostly because I felt, somehow, I would be let down by the result. This process could have dragged out, leaving me in limbo.

But it didn’t. Because of your immediate action and continued involvement, I will be able to get the help I need, without … having to explain why I am worthy of care. That’s something truly remarkable.

Your team’s effort has shown me what it means to truly look after your people, and I am beyond grateful for it. And, she wrote, knowing there are people like you fighting in my corner makes all the difference.

Trust revived.

How incredibly gracious, giving, this young Vet is. Let me tell you a little bit of the backstory. That young Veteran had hopes, and she had dreams. She’d served honorably as a noncommissioned officer. And then she decided to go to college to earn her degree, and her Army commission … continue serving our country.

She made it. Graduated Magna Cum Laude, with a major and a minor. She got her commission. She took her oath—swearing, once again, to support and defend our Constitution. She was building a great life for herself.

Then she was betrayed, violated in one of the worst ways imaginable by another soldier. She reached out for help, told someone very close to her—again, a soldier—and she was blamed. And she was further traumatized—physically abused, mentally abused, her life threatened, forced to witness both a murder and a suicide. She spiraled downward, deep into darkness—severe post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, multiple suicide attempts, and homelessness.

Now, at one point the Vet applied for benefits, but she didn’t complete the claim—couldn’t bear the pain of re-telling her story, couldn’t bear the burden of getting her VA exam.

Well, there are guardian angels out there. Thankfully, she had hers walking beside her. He offered her guidance, support, and encouragement. He’s a fellow soldier of hers, and VA employee—Ubon Mendie, comms director with VHA R&D. God bless that young man.

With his help, she steeled herself, got herself ready to file her claim. Ubon linked her up with the incredible team of public servants at the San Juan Military Sexual Trauma Operations Center. He let them know—here’s a Vet in real crisis, and she’s ready to let you help her. And Angela Briscoe, Callie Clements, and Rebecca Fuller started to fight for her.

Angela talked to the Vet and walked her through the process so she’d know exactly what to expect, so she could prepare herself. Callie and Rebecca worked closely with the Medical Disability Examination Office to expedite her exam—got an exam lined up for her the very next day. They made sure the doc doing the exam understood where the Vet was, emotionally. They stayed in close comms with Ubon—making sure the Vet was getting the information.

And they started rebuilding that trust.

It wasn’t too long after you helped her that she wrote that letter. Today, she’s back in school, working on her master’s degree. Because the folks at the MST Ops Center made all the difference … for her. And that was a difference more far-reaching than even she knew when she wrote that letter of thanks. You see, she’s now in another fight for her life … this time against cancer. And because of you—because of you—she’s going to be getting world-class cancer care through VA.

For Vets, connecting with you is a matter of restoring trust. It can also be a matter of life and death.

Angela, Callie—where are you? Thank you, both, and please share my thanks with Rebecca and your whole team for making a difference, for helping begin to rebuild that trust.

Making a difference. Building trust.

Another example. Here’s a little bit of what one of your Vets remembers about her visit to your North Platte, Nebraska, claim clinic this past June.

Going to the clinic, she wrote,

That was one of the toughest things I have forced myself to do. In just the short time I was waiting in that room with everyone, I was ready to run out the door and cry the whole drive back to Lincoln. So, when I say, you talked me off the ledge and truly helped me, I sincerely mean it.

[Over] the last 17 years, I have been met with many things nobody should have to go through. But [that] was a wonderful experience, a completely different experience than I have had before.

And that can change everything. You made so much of a difference. [You] changed my whole world.

 Again, trust revived.

The backstory. Beth Truesdell from the Lincoln Regional Office saw that Vet come in, and she knew right off the Vet was having a tough time. Beth’s been on the RO’s Public Contact Team for a while. She knows Vets. So, Beth took the Vet to one of Lincoln’s superstar MST-trained Legal Administrative Specialists for the intake—Ann Reicks.

And Ann, Ann listened. She learned that the Vet’s service-connected for combat-related Post Traumatic Stress. She learned that the Vet’s an MST survivor who won’t file for MST. She learned that the Vet had lost trust in VA.

Ann knew the most important next step for the Vet was not to lose her, to put her in the hands of a service officer there at the clinic that day who could begin restoring some trust. That was Erin Colson, a Nebraska State Veteran Service Officer. When Erin met the Vet, Erin said to her, “I got you. I got you.”

So convincing. So reassuring. So calming. And the Vet dropped her guard, worked her PACT claim with Erin, and they even talked about what she could do to get back into VA counseling. Knowing Vets, listening to Vets and hearing them … caring about Vets … that’s what rebuilding trust is about.

Ann, where are you? So good to see you this afternoon. I’m sorry I missed you when I was at the RO last October. Thank you. And thank Erin and Beth for me, too.

Just one more quick story, and I’ll close.

It’s not a letter. They’re words whispered: “Thank you. The day I came in here to file my claim you saved my life.”

You all know better than anyone—every interaction with a Vet, no matter how brief, it matters. It matters. Every single one.

The backstory. The Vet came into the Audrey Beauchesne’s Fargo Regional Office one day not too long ago and sat down in the waiting room for her turn—fidgeting, tapping her foot, visibly upset. Audrey worried the Vet might leave, so she fast-tracked her. And when the Vet sat down with Audrey for the intake, the Vet simply said, “I don’t know who to talk to, and I need someone to talk to.”

Audrey spent a good deal of time with that Vet, listening to her, learning about her, letting her tell her story. She said she was afraid to be in public. She said she was ashamed. She said she thought everyone knew she’s a victim of MST. She didn’t want to have to relive it by talking to several people. She just wanted to go in, make her claim, and get some help.

Audrey listened. And before the Vet went upstairs to see the service officer, she asked Audrey, “Can I give you a hug?” And they embraced.

A few months later, the Vet came back, and she told Audrey that things were going good, that her MST claim was being processed, and that she was in therapy at VA. And, again, before she left, she asked, “Can I give you a hug?”

And when they embraced, she whispered in Audrey’s ear, “You saved my life.”

Trust restored.

Audrey, where are you? Thank you, so much, Audrey.

You know, we talked at the outset about how many claims are filed, about how many have been processed, about how many have been granted. And all that’s important, incredibly important, because it is about delivering for Vets.

But we can never forget—and I know that not one of you ever do—we can never forget that behind every single claim is a human being, a Veteran, a family, or a survivor.

So, those are the stories of just three Vets. There are tens of thousands more. They served this country when this country needed them the most. And now, they put themselves in your hands—in your hands—when they need you the most.

And in your hands, they’re well placed. Thank you all for what you do. May God bless you, our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. And may we always give them our very best.