VETERANS CORNER: There’s a new gun in town

Douglas Collins

by Gary Kennedy

I am always the optimist. I say a prayer every night and every morning asking for the new day to be a blessing to family, friends and especially we veterans in need. With the new government, draining the swamp and all the talk about the love for America’s veterans I have been expecting the VA system to make rapid, direly needed improvements, in so many ways. Perhaps I am just not patient enough. I do hope that is the case. However, I can only go by what I see and hear and that my brothers and sisters are not very positive.

We expect at the very least to have an equipoise position as is expected in the claims we write for our veterans to win. I don’t see that happening, at least not yet. I know our President Trump has surrounded himself with a very strong military/veteran team and that, of course, is a strong plus for a safe secure America. However, we are who we are because of our might love of God and those who are now our veterans.

Lip service is exactly that. To say politics doesn’t play a big role in getting the job done would be a serious misnomer. I really don’t care if you are Democrat, Republican or Angus King; you need to be concerned about the safety of your country. If you are someone who does not, then you probably are not from here or don’t belong here. The USA has always carried the reputation of being a bastion of peace, freedom and security. Why is that? Some of the reason is laying on the ground at night, in a tent, if lucky, or in a facility for the physically or emotionally ill. These are your earthly saviors who have allowed you to lay comfortably in your bed at night and by day pursue that which you desire. So, that being said, don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.

We have a new gun in town and I am not referring to President Trump. However, he has been appointed by our commander in chief, Douglas A. Collins. His title is, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was sworn in as the 12th Secretary of Veterans Affairs on February 5, 2025. He is a lawyer, politician and a military officer. He went to New Orleans Baptist Theological seminary, university of N. Georgia and Atlanta’s John Marshall Law. He also was a Congressman; definitely the right fit given his moral legal and military backgrounds. However, I believe he needs a wake up to what has been and continues to be happening to our veterans. Unfortunately, a lot of what is happening can be concealed or explained away, especially to the new guy in town.

Things we have discussed in detail in the past such as the deprivation of the Fisher House due to management inefficiency. That loss could have been avoided and the gift to our veterans and their families could have been received. I for one, tried to warn them with my articles and my visits to their office. I also filed a complaint with the State of Maine regarding wetland violations which was ignored; I suppose we can blame the Governor Mills staff for that one. Hundreds of thousands of gifted dollars was lost as the hospitality house began to list to one side and sink into the ground; of course, this caused this beautiful and needed gift to be lost by the way side and to this date has gone unattended.

Next came the advent of the Community Living Center started five to six years ago. Some veterans who were looking forward to that have since passed away, so sad. Why did it stop five or more years ago? They even removed the signs explaining the construction. Cookouts with burger for free went to nothing; they were supposed to be celebratory regarding the coming addiction to benefit the veterans.

Think about it, for five years or more the administration continued with paychecks but the projects didn’t. Last year they started again. The signs went back up, the construction changed in design but it was supposed to be once again the Community Living Center. Two weeks ago the signs came back down as well as the general contractor’s logo and introduction. The veterans refer to this complex as “Silver City” as the construction material used are mostly silver in color. (Galvanized or aluminum studding) The contractor just picked up his trailers and equipment and left. I spoke with a couple of workers who stated money or contractual arrangement. Where do we go from here?

This all began when we received a new V.A. Director and a Regional Director. I for one need to know what’s going on with our projects and money. I believe the new president will get to the bottom of this, and in truth. Next time we will discuss quality of care and it’s very serious short-comings.

Have a safe and happy weekend with family and friends. God bless you and yours.