The VA should NOT be a defense department responsibility.
They should fight wars and focus on fighting wars. If they do their jobs right, they will automatically put everything into fighting wars.
That is why the VA should be separate. That way the care of veterans is not shoved to the back by those whose attention should be on fighting wars.
Nor should the military be a social experimentation dump.
Nor should it be a firefighting resource.
It should be about fighting wars and WINNING them. Period.
As a veteran and a military retiree, I see his logic, although some facts may have been presented to him. DoD has been “dumping” its problems on an underfunded and mis-managed VA for years. His point is that DoD disowns the problems they created the minute they discharge you. That is WRONG! Don’t need an overgrown bureaucracy of its own. DoD does fine with Tricare, although not what I signed up for 40 years ago. It could be a model for VA medical care also. That way you don’t have to travel hundreds of miles out of your way to see a “Government” doctor that doesn’t care.