Mission Statement Announcement

Lourdes Tiglao, thank you for that kind introduction. More importantly, thank you for your distinguished career of service, which continues with your invaluable leadership of the Center for Women Veterans. Many of Lourdes’ team and our teammates from the Center for Minority Veterans are here in the audience. My thanks to each of you. You and your work are critical to VA’s ability to deliver outcomes for all the Vets we serve. 

Chief Wilson, thank you for your service in uniform and your stewardship of this powerful Memorial. We value every chance we get to work with you.

West Point was founded on March 16^th, 1802, 221 years ago today. Sue Fulton represents West Point’s trailblazing class of 1980, the first to graduate women. Thank you for challenging me every day to do better for all Vets, and for leading the charge for today’s important event.

And my thanks to Maureen Elias, whose own service and voice inside VA on behalf of Veterans and their families makes her a very fitting MC today.

The theme of this year’s Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

The power of words and the stories those words tell is my focus today.

As we communicated yesterday with over 13 million Veterans and family members on our Veterans Resource mailing list, exactly 20 years ago we were in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. Military buildup in the Persian Gulf had been underway for some time, with hundreds of thousands of American and Coalition troops deployed to Kuwait.

A Marine Corps company commander named Mary Beth Antonelli was among their ranks. The daughter of Peace Corps Volunteers and schoolteachers, Mary Beth was born into service. That led her to the Naval Academy, and to join the Marine Corps after graduating—to the benefit of the United States national interest. Not surprisingly to those who know her and the Corps, she excelled in each phase of her Marine Corps career.

But that week, she was devastated to learn that after years of preparing for that moment –her time in Annapolis, at The Basic School, and years training with her unit of combat engineers—that she would not be allowed to lead her Marines into battle because she is a woman.

Mary Beth raised hell with the chain-of-command. These were her Marines. This was her unit. She knew—and so did her unit—that no one was more prepared to lead them than she was. Her commanding officer knew, too.

In the fog of war, he said, no one would care that she is a woman. Because patriotism and courage are not constrained by gender. The only thing that would matter was whether she was a good leader. And Mary Beth is a great leader.

So she led her Marines as they crossed the border into Iraq, among the first troops to enter the country at the start of that long war. They did their job, they did it well, and they returned home safely a few months later.

Now, I’ll come back to the end of that story in a moment.

But I’m telling this story not because it’s extraordinary, although Mary Beth certainly is an extraordinary leader. I tell this story because it’s not unique. Mary Beth’s experience is shared by so many women Veterans throughout our country’s history, going back to the Revolutionary War.

Women comprise the fastest growing cohort of Veterans, with over two million women having bravely served our country in uniform to this day. On this ground, at this memorial, we’re surrounded by thousands of examples of women taking risks, facing down adversity, and fighting battles—in and out of uniform—for a stronger America, for equality, for opportunity, for inclusion, and for a better and brighter future for all Americans. 

Too many of those fights continue to this day. Especially for women of color, particularly Black and Native women Veterans, whose immense contributions are too often overlooked. And VA is not immune.

The stories surrounding us at this memorial are shared by so many women Veterans in today’s audience. Women Vets who served their country admirably but may not have felt welcomed as they walked through the doors of VA. Women who might have been cat-called, maybe asked if they were there with a husband or to pick up a father, or exposed to other forms of sexism or misogyny.

Many of you have shared similar, inexcusable experiences. So I can understand why you might not have seen yourselves, your service, or your sacrifice reflected in our mission statement hanging outside VA buildings around the country. The same is true for caregivers, who often invest their lives and careers to care for their Veterans; survivors, who mourn the loss of their beloved Veterans; and non-combat Veterans, who may wonder whether they can hold their heads as high and call themselves Veterans.

Today, we take a step forward. One step. There are still more to go. But today, we take a step towards making sure all who have served know: VA is their VA, too.

Today, we are bringing our mission statement into the moment. We are embracing the fullest meaning of President Lincoln’s sentiments, promise, and passion reflected in President Biden’s charge to fulfill what he rightly calls our nation’s one solemn obligation, to equip those we send to war and to care for them when they return home. Every single Veteran.

Going forward, VA’s mission statement will read, “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.”

The words adorning our walls at VA matter. The story those words tell matters.

We acknowledge, honor, respect, and lift up those women Veterans who didn’t feel like they belonged, because of words, because of the incomplete stories those words told.  And we reach out to and invite those caregivers, those survivors, and anyone else who has not felt welcomed at VA.  You are welcome, today and every day, at your VA.

This is an important step. But as necessary as it is, it’s also insufficient. We must continue improving access, delivering outcomes, and earning the trust of those we serve.

We’ve been taking important steps to do that for women Vets—to make VA and our programs complete—offering services women Veterans need by providers trained in gender-specific care in a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment.

Women Veterans are offered assignment to a designated Women’s Health Primary Care Provider—that’s for both general primary care and gender-specific primary care.

We have Women Vet Coordinators in every regional office to provide assistance specifically for women Veterans so they can access care they deserve.

We have made substantive changes to the Transition Assistance Program, so women transitioning from the service are offered information relevant to their individual, post-transition goals.

We’re committed to providing women Vets the full range of health services they need for their health and well-being; reproductive health, contraception and fertility services, family building, gender-specific cardiac care, and more.

And we’re starting to see results from these efforts. Women Veterans are trusting us at higher levels—trust scores rising steadily from 81% in 2017 to 86% today. But we need to build far more trust with women Vets, because those scores are 4 points below average, and nearly 5 points below male Vets’ trust score.

We still have a lot of work to do, and a long journey ahead. And honoring the service and sacrifice of all Veterans—in our words and in our deeds—is an important and necessary next step on that long, winding road.

Now, back to Mary Beth. Mary Beth’s service did not end when she returned from Iraq. She went back to the Naval Academy to teach. It was there, back in Annapolis, that she embraced the responsibility to mentor the next generation of women Marines. Women whom she says changed her life.

Mary Beth said, “I pledged to myself that I would bring every ounce of myself to those midshipmen. And I knew that I would be a better Marine for it … by being completely, uniquely, and wonderfully, me.”

Today, Mary Beth Antonelli, now Mary Beth Bruggeman, runs a non-profit dedicated to Veterans serving again after leaving the military, through volunteering and community service. She built a one-of-a-kind mentorship and leadership program for women Veterans, a space for women Veterans to support one another by sharing their own stories of challenges, strength, and connection.

Her husband, Brian—a Marine Corps Cobra pilot who she met on the very first day of combat operations in Iraq—recently retired after an illustrious military career and seven deployments overseas.

In so many ways, Mary Beth is the quintessential Veteran. Beyond the discipline and the standards, the duty and the sacrifice, what defines the story of Veterans like Mary Beth is that those stories are grounded in an unyielding commitment to strength and to others. A pledge to stand up and fight for our country, our communities, and our people, both in and out of uniform.

In closing, I pay tribute to the countless women Veterans who, through their service and through their words, their voice, and their art champion the cause of equality and inclusion.

The stories of women Veterans and their achievements throughout our country’s history are integral chapters in VA’s story, just as are the stories of women who work at VA and other advocates and allies who ensure all Veterans receive the world-class health care and earned benefits they so richly deserve. Stories that guide us, inspire us, and will do so for generations to come.

Thank you for sharing your stories. I shared just one story today, but there are thousands out there like it. I am honored to be joined today by others—a woman Veteran, a Survivor, and a Caregiver— who will share their stories this afternoon. Thank you for being here today, and for joining us in our mission.

God bless you all. And God bless our nation’s servicemembers, our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

Thank you.