VA puts veterans like me last. California law will ensure we're left behind.

By Jeramiah Solven

Read it in USA Today

I recently got some good news: The Department of Veterans Affairs finally acknowledged my combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, a step that will help me get treatment to move forward into the next stage of my life.

The bad news is that it took me more than five years, hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to get this far. But I’m one of the lucky veterans who navigated the morass of bureaucracy by working with a private company – a resource that could go away for California’s 1.5 million veterans if state lawmakers pass Senate bill 694.

I served in the Army from 2005 to 2020. I was an Army Ranger leading special operations deep into enemy territory in Afghanistan, capturing al-Qaida leaders and later commanding an infantry company. I’ve led hundreds of soldiers, forged lifelong bonds and accomplished missions under fire with genuine heroes. But I also witnessed death firsthand, made decisions that sent myself and others into harm’s way, and carried home the heavy weight of PTSD, anxiety and a range of mental health challenges. 

Unfortunately, while my overseas combat has ended, I've had to fight a different battle with the Department of Veterans Affairs just to access help for the invisible wounds of war.

We need fee-based groups because veteran care system is broken

On the surface, I’m resilient. I work out every day and run a leadership training company, guiding teams through mountainous terrain so they can learn teamwork under pressure. I stay fit because it calms my mind and reinforces a fragile sense of self. 

But beneath my discipline lies a vulnerability I mask with every mile I run and each summit I climb. The PTSD diagnosis means I can get treatment so I can work with known symptoms that exhaust me in social circumstances because my body is always ready for combat. Instead of avoiding people, I can start to heal in a way that will allow me to end five years of social isolation.

As many veterans have experienced, the VA didn’t treat my mental health issues with the care and diligence I expected. Bureaucracy was its priority.

For two years, my claims were inaccurately assessed (by simple negligence), with paperwork never translating into treatment. I was told I had “general anxiety” even though my symptoms didn’t match that. I compensated poorly because nobody knew what was going on, least of all me.

I was stuck.

Then I was introduced to Veterans Guardian, a fee-based organization that knew the system inside and out, by a trusted friend who had worked with the group. In months, its team members made more progress than I thought possible. They were efficient, affordable and effective, and I’ve referred other veterans to them ever since.

That’s why California’s SB 694 is dangerous. It attempts to protect veterans from sleazebag predators, but instead it would ban all fee-based providers, including those that help veterans like me.

A federal court struck down a similar law in New Jersey earlier this year, recognizing that veterans deserve choice, especially when the VA so often fails us. If California bans Veterans Guardian and companies like them, many veterans will be left with no allies to navigate a system that puts them last.

Yes, these groups draw criticism – even from respected organizations like the American Legion and the VFW. And should these companies have to exist? No.

But they do because the system is broken, and they provide a critical service when more than 134,000 VA claims are backlogged, when wait times for claim processing average over 100 days and when nearly 36% of claims are denied. 

I have either met or worked with the people at the American Legion and VFW as well as Veterans Guardian. I can tell you that there are caring people at all of them – but Veterans Guardian simply blew away the competition while driving my personal health mission forward. I’m now back on my own, using artificial intelligence to fight a legal battle with the VA, but the progress I’ve made since 2022 would have been impossible without Veterans Guardian's help. 

Without help, veterans end up overwhelmed by mental illness, homelessness

Heroes with traumatic brain injuries, combat medics with shattered limbs and veterans with PTSD are among those making up at least 5% of America’s homeless adults.

They are neighbors living with untreated mental health issues or battling addiction, often ending up on the street like more than 10,000 homeless veterans who live in California (my home state). Some lose hope when the system meant to save them fails and they're left feeling used and abandoned. And until the VA's broken system is totally revamped to actually put service members first, more outside help is often the only solution. 

In every unit I served, there were soldiers who died either while I was there or shortly after I left. I came back from multiple deployments with wounds that will never fully heal, and I was expecting timely, competent care.

Instead, I’ve had to fight again – this time, against entrenched bureaucracy – for help. The worst part about fighting the system is the wasted hours I could be spending healing and building a better me.  

I recognize that California lawmakers are well-intentioned, but banning all fee-based groups would set a dangerous precedent that could result in millions of veterans across the nation stranded in the VA backlog – left without a real pathway to care.

This process robs them of the most valuable commodity we can never get back: time.

California lawmakers must reconsider before condemning thousands of us to more harm from the battles we fought in service to our country.

Jeramiah Solven spent 15 years in the U.S. Army, including time as an Army Ranger. After retiring, he founded Conquer Academy, a leadership training organization.