Mike Helm

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is on the right track, several months after the revelation that employees at its hospital system sought to cover up the long wait times veterans were facing, the commander of the American Legion said Thursday in Lawrence.

Mike Helm, a Vietnam War veteran from Norcatur who was chosen last month to lead the veterans organization, said that while the VA still has work to do, like speeding up its claims process, it has at least taken steps to address its problems. That included the May resignation of VA secretary Eric Shinseki just a few weeks after the American Legion called for him to step down.

“I visited with (new secretary Robert McDonald) on the phone. He assured me, and I believe him, that he’s moving forward with this and trying to restore the trust of veterans within our VA system,” Helm said at American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 in Lawrence, adding that the VA remains the best way to provide care to veterans. “We believe there are medical conditions that veterans have that are unlike other parts of society. Doctors seeing those same conditions day in and day out is going to bring better care to those veterans.”

Helm also said the VA and Department of Defense must do more to address returning veterans’ traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder than simply throwing drugs at the problem.

In other remarks, Helm noted that the American Legion supports President Barack Obama’s efforts to rout the Islamic State terrorist group and said the legion has been disappointed to see the national defense budget drop by 20 percent since 2010.