As a veteran and concerned citizen, I am very angry, disappointed and dismayed with the draconian reductions in personnel at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I cannot understand how these senseless and heartless cuts in VA manpower levels, to bring employee numbers to 2019 levels, will improve the delivery of service to our veterans. This is in combination as well with the massive cancellation by President Trump and Elon Musk of private contract services at the VA.
This whole process seems counterproductive since 400,000 new veterans needing VA services have been added to the department’s rolls since 2019. These changes were abrupt and provided little time to analyze fully the impact of these cuts.
I agree, we must find ways to deliver services more effectively, but to do this we should be using a scalpel and not a sledge hammer.
Both Mr. Musk and President Trump seemed to have lacked the judgment and empathy to realize the devastating impact these policies will have on our service men and women. Clearly these directives from President Trump, and orchestrated and carried out by Elon Musk and his associates, illustrate a disrespect and lack of empathy for our courageous and patriotic veterans.
Rich Stuart
Thomaston
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.