Note: Evaluations for service connection are performed by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) not the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Folks in the VHA are the front line clinicians providing clinical care to Veterans. A service connection assessment by the VBA is explicitly NOT treatment, it is an eval to determine whether disability, injury, condition, etc is least as likely as not to be related to service. The clinical services provided by the VHA is an easy thing to crap on because who would disagree with the statement that we need to take care of Veterans. I work in addiction treatment in the VA and I wish civilians had the immediate and continuous access to addiction treatment that the Veterans at my VA are able to use. Sometimes it takes multiple 21 day residential intensive outpatient treatment episodes to achieve something that resembles recovery. It isn't perfect but a helluva lot better than private insurance (at least for MH and addiction treatment from my perspective).