Shortly after Memorial Day, I joined The Conservative Commandos Radio and TV Show on Frontiers of Freedom to talk about a question Americans should be asking as we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary:
Are we actually keeping our promises to veterans?
It is easy to honor veterans with ceremonies, speeches, flags, and social media posts. Those things matter. Memorial Day matters. Veterans Day matters. The 250th anniversary of the United States matters.
But the real test is what happens after the ceremony ends.
The real test is whether a disabled veteran can access the benefits they earned. The real test is whether a veteran can get health care when they need it. The real test is whether a veteran who is no longer able to perform their prior work because of service-connected disabilities can access rehabilitation, education, and training benefits without being misled by the very agency created to serve them.
That was the focus of my recent interview with Frontiers of Freedom.
Watch the full interview on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/UoA9QPQfVbA
You can also watch it on Rumble here:
https://rumble.com/v7apsiu-the-conservative-commandos-radio-and-tv-show-ben-krause.html
From Disabled Veteran To VA Attorney
During the interview, I shared a little about my own background.
I grew up in a blue-collar home in northern Wisconsin. My parents were not doctors or lawyers. My dad had a GED and worked as an over-the-road trucker. I did not come from a family with a high level of institutional knowledge about how to navigate government systems.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft radar and radio technician, I came home and tried to use the benefits I had been promised.
That experience opened my eyes.
It took me more than a decade to win the disability benefits I should have received. It also took years to secure the full scope of Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits I should have received much earlier.
That program, commonly called VR&E or Chapter 31, ultimately helped me become an attorney. It helped me attend law school. It helped me build a law firm that now represents veterans nationwide in complex VA benefits and VR&E matters.
In one sense, VA created me.
The agency wrongly denied benefits, delayed access, and forced me to learn the system the hard way. Now, I use that experience to help other veterans avoid the same traps.
The Difference Between Perception Of Access And Real Access
One of the most important points from the interview was the difference between “perception of access” and real access.
On paper, America appears to offer broad support to veterans. We have the Department of Veterans Affairs. We have disability compensation. We have VA health care. We have education benefits. We have VR&E. We have community care.
From the outside, it looks like veterans have access to everything they need.
But many veterans discover something very different once they enter the system.
The VA system is still an adjudicative bureaucracy. It is not simply a benevolent benefits counter where a veteran walks in, proves service, and receives what was promised. Veterans often encounter denials, delays, quota-driven decision-making, poor explanations, misleading guidance, and a level of red tape that causes some veterans to simply quit.
That is not real access.
That is the appearance of access.
And that gap between appearance and reality is where many disabled veterans get hurt.
Why VR&E Matters
VR&E may be one of the most powerful and misunderstood benefits available to disabled veterans.
When it works properly, VR&E can help a disabled veteran retrain for suitable employment. That can include high-level professional training when the facts support it. I have helped veterans pursue paths toward becoming attorneys, doctors, psychologists, counselors, professors, business executives, and other professionals.
This is not charity.
This is rehabilitation.
This is the government helping disabled veterans overcome employment barriers caused by service-connected disabilities so they can become productive, independent, and successful.
That is exactly the kind of program America should want to function well as we approach the 250th anniversary of the country.
But too many veterans are still told things that are simply not true.
Veterans are told VR&E does not approve law school. They are told it does not approve medical school. They are told it does not approve high-cost training. They are told to settle for less than what their facts and the law may support.
That kind of misinformation changes lives.
A veteran who could become a doctor may settle for a lower-paying job that aggravates their disabilities. A veteran who could become an attorney may be discouraged from even applying. A veteran who could become a psychologist, professor, or entrepreneur may be steered away from the very rehabilitation plan that would help them succeed.
That is why VR&E matters.
It is not just another VA program. It is a leadership pipeline for disabled veterans.
Backlogs, Staffing Problems, And The Cost Of Bureaucracy
During the interview, I also discussed how current problems inside VA are affecting veterans.
The PACT Act created a major increase in the number of veterans receiving disability ratings. Many of those veterans may now be eligible for VR&E services. But VA did not adequately plan for the increased demand.
At the same time, DOGE-related changes, retirements, staffing problems, and policy instability have strained the system.
The result is predictable.
Veterans wait longer. Decisions get worse. Counselors become overwhelmed. Veterans receive incomplete or misleading information. Appeals pile up. And the burden shifts back onto the disabled veteran.
This is not a left-versus-right issue.
Veterans were harmed by bureaucracy under prior administrations, and they are being harmed by bureaucracy now. The problem is institutional. It is structural. It is cultural.
And it will not be fixed by slogans.
It will be fixed through transparency, oversight, accountability, and veterans refusing to accept false answers.
VA Health Care And Community Care Barriers
We also discussed VA health care access.
I gave a personal example from my own life. I have been struggling simply to get a timely call back and access to needed preventive care, including a colonoscopy. That should alarm people.
This is not because I do not understand the VA system. I work inside this system every day. I am a VA-accredited attorney. I represent veterans nationwide. I know the terminology. I know the appeal routes. I know how the bureaucracy works.
And yet even I have run into the same barriers many veterans face: delayed call backs, confusing community care rules, difficulty getting permission to go outside VA, providers who are reluctant to work with VA because of past payment problems, and a process that can feel like it was designed to wear people down.
That is the point.
If someone like me struggles to get basic follow-up for preventive care, what happens to the veteran driving a truck, working in a factory, raising children, living in a rural area, or dealing with serious disabilities without legal training or a public platform?
Community care sounds simple when policymakers talk about it. In reality, veterans often need permission before they can go into the community. They may struggle to get through the phone system. They may need separate approvals for different kinds of care. They may get bounced between offices, phone numbers, and fax machines.
A veteran may technically have “access” to care.
But if the process is so delayed, confusing, or dysfunctional that the veteran cannot actually use it, that is not meaningful access. That is only the appearance of access.
The 250th Anniversary And America’s Promise
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we should be honest about what patriotism requires.
It is not enough to say we support the troops.
It is not enough to thank veterans for their service.
It is not enough to hold hearings, issue press releases, or praise VA programs on paper.
The true cost of freedom includes caring for the men and women who came home changed by military service. It includes caring for widows, orphans, and disabled veterans. It includes making sure the benefits promised to veterans are not quietly eroded by bureaucracy, misinformation, or delay.
America can celebrate 250 years of independence while also admitting that our veterans benefits system still needs serious reform.
Those two ideas are not in conflict.
In fact, they belong together.
A strong country keeps its promises.
Watch The Interview
I appreciate Frontiers of Freedom and The Conservative Commandos Radio and TV Show for having me on to discuss these issues.
The interview covered my personal story, the mission behind DisabledVeterans.org, the importance of VR&E, the challenges veterans face with VA health care, and why Americans should demand more accountability from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Watch the full interview on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/UoA9QPQfVbA
Watch on Rumble:
https://rumble.com/v7apsiu-the-conservative-commandos-radio-and-tv-show-ben-krause.html
If you are a disabled veteran who was wrongly denied VR&E or other VA benefits, do not assume the denial is correct. Learn the rules. Get educated. Ask questions. And do not let bureaucracy be the final word on your future.