DoD, VA Trying to Smooth Handoff

The heads of the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs said Monday they want to improve the process by which active servicemembers become veterans but also acknowledged it would take a lot of work.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki convened the second of what they said would be regular meetings about how their departments can better serve troops leaving the military, including those filing claims for service-connected disabilities.

Congress has repeatedly heard testimony from veterans' service organizations that many vets applying for disability compensation are waiting for an answer far longer than the VA's maximum goal of 125 days. After that point, applications are considered part of the backlog.