Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie hosted his first State of VA Community Town Hall on September 27, 2018. The secretary and eight guest panelists highlighted the activity and direction of VA since his appointment to lead the department in July.
“VA exists to make life easier for Veterans,” Wilkie recently told the crowd of Veterans at the AMVETS annual convention. “So my prime directive is customer service. When a Veteran comes in to VA, it is not up to him to get VA to say ‘yes.’ It is up to VA to give the Veteran tools.”
The secretary and panelists discussed how VA is focused on becoming the leader in customer experience and improving services to our nation’s Veterans through various initiatives such as engagement with community partners, leaders, advocates, state/county VA departments, Department of Defense, Veteran Service Organizations, and community Veterans engagement boards.
The secretary engaged Veterans directly during this webcast’s live question and answer session. All attendants were invited to submit questions during the webcast.
Panelists:
Jim Wartski - Veterans Experience Office
Dr. Richard Stone - Veterans Health Administration
Dr. Paul Lawrence - Veterans Benefits Administration
Randy Reeves - National Cemetery Administration
Alfie Alvarado-Ramos - National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs
Herman Breuer - National Association of County Veterans Service Officers
Anthony Wickham - National Guard
Stephen Austin - Army Reserve