After months of planning, the new Commission on the Future for America’s Veterans began its historic work with a series of public and private meetings in Washington, DC on November 9, 2006. The Commission is an independent, nonpartisan analytical body established to examine the needs of veterans twenty years into the future and develop comprehensive recommendations that will alow our Nation to meet those needs.

The Commission’s day was highlighted by its first public meeting held on Capitol Hill and a private meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield, and a dozen other senior VA officials.

Participating in today’s meetings were all nine Commissioners: Mr. Everett Alvarez, Jr., Mr. Raymond Boland, Mr. Chad Colley, Mr. Ronald F. Conley, Mr. William M. Diefenderfer III, Dr. Kenneth Kizer, Ms. Susan Livingstone, Mr. Bryan E. Sharratt, and Ms. Jo Ann Webb. In addition, Hon. Harry N. Walters, former VA Administrator, who serves as a non-voting, Managing Commissioner, helped preside over the first public meeting.

Opening up the meeting, which was held in the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing room on Capitol Hill, Managing Comissioner Harry Walters stressed the importance of the task ahead and the unique nature of this Commission. Walters, himself a veteran of several prior governmental commissions, made clear that the Commissioners will be in charge of this Commission: “they will set the agenda, they will determine research priorities, and they will make the final recommendations.”

The Commissioners then had a chance to lay out some of their initial thoughts and priorities, showcasing the diversity of backgrounds and expertise they each bring to the task before them. Linc Smith, President and CEO of Altarum Institute, discussed the status of a baseline report they are doing. This report will provide a broad overview of the myriad of issues facing the Commission, as well as develop models for how recommendations should be strutured to meet the needs of veterans in 2020 and beyond.

Following the Commission’s morning session, they were received at VA headquarters for a private meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson and his senior staff . Nicholson once again offered his strong support for the important work of the Commission and pledged to make VA information and resources available to the Commission as it may require them. Harry Walters, who himself had been in charge of the VA twenty years earlier, told Nicholson and his staff that the Commission was established to seek long term solutions, free from the political debates and partisan struggles of today. Walters made clear that the Commission would be engaging the best minds from academia, industry, government, and the veteran community to arrive at recommendations that would help fulfill the promises made to our servicemen and women.

The Commission was created by the Veterans Coalition, a private, nonprofit organization founded in June 2006 by The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), AMVETS, and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The Coalition provides ongoing support for the work of the Commission, but does not play a role in the Commission’s deliberations or in determining its recommendations.