The VA System: Strengths, Shortcomings, and Opportunities for Reform
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) serves as the primary institution for meeting the healthcare and support needs of America’s veterans. Yet, as Dr. Neysa Holmes outlines in A Soldier’s Soldier, the VA system has consistently fallen short in addressing the critical issues facing combat veterans, particularly in mental health and reintegration. This article delves into the strengths, shortcomings, and necessary reforms to ensure that veterans receive the care and respect they deserve.
Strengths of the VA System
The VA system has made significant strides in providing healthcare to veterans, particularly in physical medicine. For instance, services for physical injuries sustained during combat, such as surgeries and rehabilitation, are well-established. The VA also provides financial support through disability compensation for service-related injuries, offering a lifeline to veterans and their families.
Moreover, initiatives like the GI Bill have been transformative, helping veterans reintegrate into civilian life by providing education and training benefits. Programs for housing assistance and job placement have also contributed to improved outcomes for some veterans.
Shortcomings of the VA System
Despite these strengths, A Soldier’s Soldier underscores glaring deficiencies in the VA system, especially in addressing the mental health crisis among combat veterans. Veterans like Erick, whose stories are highlighted in the book, often find that their complex psychological wounds are not adequately addressed.
The VA’s reliance on traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals often exacerbates issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rather than resolving them. Many veterans report that prescribed medications lead to side effects such as increased suicidal ideation, which compounds their struggles. The data is alarming: the suicide rate among post-2001 veterans has risen from 22 to 42 per day.
Furthermore, the VA’s inability to meet the demand for mental health services leaves many veterans without timely care. The bureaucracy within the system creates delays, and veterans frequently encounter overwhelmed staff, limited access to specialists, and insufficient follow-ups. As Dr. Holmes points out, each veteran’s trauma is unique, and a “one-size-fits-all” approach fails to consider their individual experiences and needs.
Opportunities for Reform
To address these issues, reforms must focus on both structural and cultural changes within the VA.
1. Enhanced Mental Health Services: The VA must expand its mental health programs to include innovative, non-traditional therapies. Holistic approaches, such as those inspired by Ilchi Lee’s philosophies mentioned in A Soldier’s Soldier, can address both physical and emotional trauma by integrating practices like meditation and brain-body healing.
2. Individualized Care Plans: A personalized approach to treatment should replace the generic model currently in place. Veterans must be evaluated not just for visible injuries but for invisible wounds, including PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and moral injury.
3. Streamlined Processes: The VA must reduce bureaucratic barriers that prevent veterans from accessing care quickly. This includes simplifying the claims process and ensuring that veterans are assigned case managers who can guide them through the system.
4. Community Partnerships: Private organizations such as the Green Beret Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project have stepped in where the VA has faltered. Strengthening partnerships with these organizations and funding them federally could help fill the gaps.
5. Focus on Suicide Prevention: Expanding crisis intervention programs, increasing staffing in mental health departments, and creating peer-support networks could significantly reduce the suicide rate among veterans.
America’s veterans fulfill their duty to protect the nation selflessly, yet many find themselves abandoned by the system they served. As Dr. Holmes poignantly states, trauma is not their fault, but addressing it must become a collective responsibility. The VA must rise to the occasion by delivering on its promise to honor those who sacrificed so much.

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Forgiveness as a Healing Tool: The Power of Letting Go in Veteran Recovery
In the journey of healing from trauma, one of the most profound and challenging steps for veterans is learning to forgive—not only others but also themselves. In A Soldier’s Soldier by Neysa Holmes, PhD, the concept of forgiveness plays a central role in the emotional recovery of veterans who have been scarred by their experiences in combat and the loss of fellow soldiers. While forgiveness is often perceived as a simple act, for veterans, it can be a complex and deeply personal process, one that is essential for achieving true healing.
The Role of Forgiveness in Recovery
Forgiveness, as Holmes explains in A Soldier’s Soldier, is not about condoning harmful actions or forgetting the past; it is about releasing the emotional burden that keeps veterans trapped in their trauma. Many veterans carry anger, guilt, and resentment, either toward others or themselves, after their military service. These emotions can prevent them from moving forward and finding peace. Forgiving others—whether it be enemies from the battlefield or those who have betrayed them—can be a crucial step in letting go of the past.
The emotional weight of unforgiven pain can lead to long-term mental health struggles, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Holding on to grudges or feelings of betrayal only perpetuates the cycle of trauma. By choosing to forgive, veterans free themselves from the emotional prison that keeps them anchored in past hurts, allowing them to heal and reconnect with their sense of self.
The Challenge of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not easy, especially for veterans who have experienced the horrors of war. In A Soldier’s Soldier, Holmes acknowledges that veterans often struggle with the idea of forgiving those who have caused them pain, especially if that pain is connected to the loss of comrades or horrific acts of violence. It can feel impossible to forgive the people or circumstances that have caused such deep wounds.
Forgiving oneself can be equally difficult, particularly for veterans who feel responsible for the death of fellow soldiers or believe that they could have done more to prevent tragedy. The guilt associated with these experiences can be overwhelming, and the thought of letting go of that guilt may seem like betrayal to the fallen comrades. However, as Holmes emphasizes, the healing process cannot begin until veterans can release this burden and forgive themselves.
The Benefits of Forgiveness
Despite the challenges, forgiveness offers profound emotional and psychological benefits. For veterans, letting go of past pain allows them to regain control over their emotions and begin the process of self-compassion. Forgiveness can lead to reduced stress, improved mental clarity, and a deeper sense of peace. Veterans who embrace forgiveness often report feeling a renewed sense of purpose and emotional resilience, which helps them to reconnect with others and build a future outside of their trauma.
Additionally, forgiveness fosters the ability to re-engage in meaningful relationships. For many veterans, isolation is a common result of unresolved trauma. By forgiving and healing from the past, they are able to break free from the cycle of emotional numbing and reconnect with loved ones, peers, and their communities.
In conclusion, forgiveness is a powerful and essential tool in the recovery process for veterans, as emphasized in A Soldier’s Soldier by Neysa Holmes. It is a complex and difficult journey, but one that is necessary for healing. Whether forgiving others or themselves, veterans who embrace forgiveness can experience profound emotional relief and begin to rebuild their lives. By letting go of the weight of past trauma, they open themselves to the possibility of a brighter, more peaceful future.

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NEVER QUIT—A determined and beautiful love story of two small-town American kids, growing up together in Central Florida, best of friends since eight years old, who never gave up on their love for each other. This undying love is what inspired Dr. Holmes to apply her astute academic research capabilities as a PhD, to navigate what seemed an impossible task, not losing her friend to the war as so many others fell, sadly after returning home. Over a period of years, through difficult trials and errors, she developed successful methodologies and strategies to mitigate and overcome the worst of the symptoms of Combat PTSD, TBIs, and Operators Syndrome. Her motto —NEVER QUIT— was exactly the same motto as her husband's that carried him through impossible hellscapes of war and years of the world's most difficult training in special operations.

A Soldier's Soldier is a book about honoring all men like Erick for the sacrifices they had given for their country, families, and loved ones. This book is dedicated to Erick, his fellow brothers-in-arms, and their brave families and caregivers. Dr. Holmes lovingly dedicates and intends this book to help them achieve the peace and comfort that these highly esteemed and treasured veterans and their heroic families so richly deserve.

No matter what... you NEVER QUIT!!!