Atlas Research Manager Greg Smallwood, a member of the U.S. Marine reserves, recently participated in a “Voice of the Veteran” panel to share his perspectives on access to and quality of services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The panel featured seven Veterans who discussed their VA experiences and answered questions from senior VA officials during the VA annual leadership meeting.
Following the presentation, the panelists had lunch with VA Secretary Bob McDonald to continue the conversation. Secretary McDonald said each VA Medical Center is charged with conducting its own “Voice of the Veteran” panel to ensure they are remaining in touch with the needs of Veterans.
“There are a lot of great people working extremely hard to improve the services offered to Veterans. For me, it’s frustrating when I hear my fellow brothers and sisters express negativity with VA when they may be in the dark about all the great things going on,” said Mr. Smallwood.
“This summit served as a reminder for me to continue to share what I know about VA’s programs and services, and encourage Veterans to be confident in VA’s promises to care for them.”