Veterans get one day of thanks — and VA red tape year-round

My father served as a colonel in the Army and later as chief counsel for the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Yet his own post-traumatic stress disorder went undiagnosed for years.

His VA benefits became a vital source of help for him, my mother, and my two siblings with disabilities. I’ve seen firsthand what those benefits mean to a family — and what years of uncertainty can cost.

Veterans should not have to depend on extraordinary persistence to receive ordinary benefits.

Two of my brothers are serving in the military. I have also spent my career in foreign affairs, where service members play an essential role in American policy. The sacrifices of military families are not abstractions to me.

Every November 11, Americans honor the roughly 17 million veterans