A group looking to improve conditions for American veterans held its first in a national series of town hall-style meetings at the state Capitol on Tuesday, and commissioners found no shortage of suggestions and complaints from a crowd of West Virginia veterans.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- National veterans groups have created an independent commission to look for innovative, long-term strategies to ensure that veterans of the Iraq war and other 21st century conflicts receive medical care and other benefits.

The Commission on the Future for America's Veterans plans a multistate tour to gather input from veterans, state officials, labor and business leaders and the public. The tour kicks off in Charleston on Tuesday with a town hall-style meeting at the state Capitol.

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its electronic medical records (EMRs) system, all veterans’ medical records remained intact.

In disaster situations, current and available medical information is crucial to the safety and health of affected populations. By linking data across all its medical facilities and departments, the VA guarantees both access and high-quality care to veterans when they need it — no matter their location.

Most private hospitals can only dream of the futuristic medicine Dr. Divya Shroff practices today. Outside an elderly patient's room, the attending physician gathers her residents around a wireless laptop propped on a mobile cart. Shroff accesses the patient's entire medical history--a stack of paper in most private hospitals. And instead of trekking to the radiology lab to view the latest X-ray, she brings it up on her computer screen. While Shroff is visiting the patient, a resident types in a request for pain medication, then punches the SEND button.

Three summers ago, Augustin Martinez’s skin was yellow. He was in pain. And physicians at Kaiser Permanente, his usual source of care, were baffled. The frustrated Martinez, a retired Lockheed Martin engineer in San Jose, Calif., asked his brother, a New York physician, for advice. After consulting colleagues, his brother advised him to go to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in nearby Palo Alto. Martinez, a former Navy petty officer 2nd class, was entitled to VA care (eligibility depends on several factors, including date and length of military service, injury, and income).

Raymond B. Roemer, 83, has earned his membership in “the greatest generation.” A flight engineer during World War II, his B-24 was shot down over Potsdam during a bombing run. He managed to parachute out, but the jump landed him in enemy territory. Roemer spent 11 months in a German POW camp until he was liberated by General George S. Patton’s troops in April, 1945.

A nine-member privately funded commission is embarking on uncharted territory with a two-year effort to plan the future of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The effort is headed by Harry N. Walters, a former VA administrator and assistant Army secretary who concedes this is an ambitious project, called the Veterans’ Coalition, especially because there is no government money involved and because commissioners were picked for their expertise and not for political reasons.

“This is not your standard government commission,” said Walters, an Army veteran.

An avuncular man with a gravelly voice, Dr. Michael Simberkoff, 69, fires up his computer. With a keystroke, he’s on a page that lists a patient’s complete health record, including office visits, drug prescriptions, and lab tests.