Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference on Sept. 24, the head of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), pointed out that next to DOD, Veterans Affairs is the second largest bureaucracy in the Administration. And, unfortunately, he said, to many people, VA means “Veterans Adversary” instead of “Veterans Advocate.” Filner talked of the many Vietnam veterans who have struggled for decades to work claims stemming from exposure to Agent Orange and those who suffer from homelessness and alcoholism, noting that some 58,000 Vietnam vets have committed suicide. All of which provides a lesson, declared Filner, for how not to treat the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
