For generations, U.S. veterans have shouldered the heavy costs of our nation’s wars, only to return home and face a new, often unseen battle — navigating the very institutions designed to support them. Veterans have repeatedly found themselves trapped in a maze of inadequate care, fighting for the treatments necessary to reclaim their lives. What began with early post-traumatic stress disorder support groups has evolved into an ongoing struggle for access to modern, life-saving therapies, including psychedelic treatments. 

The history of veterans’ health advocacy is a painful tale of neglect and perseverance. In the early years of the Vietnam War, veterans displaying signs of neuroses or psychoses were dismissed by VA psychiatrists as suffering from non-combat-related issues. As a result, VA disability claims citing psychological trauma from combat were routinely denied. With nowhere else to turn and desperate for support, veterans formed mutual aid groups. But it wasn’t until 1980, through the efforts of veteran advocates, psychiatrists and emerging empirical research, that PTSD was officially recognized as a diagnosable condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). 

Post-Vietnam, returning soldiers faced another crisis in the form of Agent Orange, which was linked to an array of mysterious and life-threatening physical symptoms. For decades, veterans’ groups relentlessly fought to prove the link between the toxic compound and the diseases that followed before the government acknowledged the connection and provided necessary care. By then, many had already succumbed to disease, and even today, some veteran groups are still fighting for recognition and compensation related to Agent Orange exposure. 

This same pattern repeated itself with the issue of burn pits, where soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to toxic fumes from burning waste. But the government initially dismissed the link between burn pit exposure and the health problems reported by veterans. Once again, it took years of advocacy, veteran-led marches to Congress, and high-profile campaigns to document the devastating effects, organize, and demand recognition and care from policymakers. 

Now, our veterans face the most devastating crisis yet. Since Sept. 11, 2001, an estimated 150,000 veterans have died by suicide — that number should haunt every single one of us. For every combat death, 15 veterans have died by their own hand. This is the clearest, most damning indictment of our failure to provide veterans with effective mental health care. Traditional treatments are simply not working for many of these veterans, and the system’s response has been slow, bureaucratic and grossly inadequate. 

Yet there is hope. Psychedelic therapies, particularly MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT), have shown tremendous promise in treating PTSD. This could be the breakthrough veterans have been waiting for. But just as veterans are fighting for these therapies, bureaucratic barriers remain as entrenched as ever, as was evident when the FDA decided not to approve MDMA-AT.   

The FDA’s decision was not merely a denial of a promising treatment, but a rejection of a lifeline for countless veterans failed by conventional care. The burden on veterans extends beyond surviving their service as they must navigate a continuously flawed system that consistently fails them. Veterans are time and again forced to become their own advocates, researchers and lobbyists, all while contending with the very conditions that make these tasks nearly impossible. 

Next year, no matter who wins this November’s presidential election, the vice president will be a veteran. That’s a remarkable statement, but so far neither vice presidential candidate has discussed the mental health crisis decimating the veteran community. In fact, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, generally tout their military experience but have not yet confronted the issues and challenges that veterans are facing.  

Both candidates should be better. They understand firsthand the struggles veterans face, yet neither has taken the opportunity to make this issue a priority in their campaigns. Where are the bold policies, the urgent proposals to fix the broken systems that have let down so many of their fellow veterans? They have the platform and the power to address this head-on, but instead, they’ve engaged in political theater while veterans continue to suffer. 

In the vice presidential debate, veterans issues were a noticeably absent topic. While speaking to their bases, neither felt ending the veteran suicide crisis was important enough to discuss. We don’t need more empty words or political posturing. We need someone who will demand immediate, meaningful action to fix the flawed system that has failed far too many for generations. We need policies that prioritize veterans’ well-being and ensure access to the treatments will make a difference — not just for individuals, but for their families and communities as well. 

The debate was their chance to prove they haven’t forgotten what it means to serve. If neither side is going to stand up for the real issues facing the veteran community, I for one, request that both Walz and Vance stop using their military service for political gain. This was their moment to rise to the occasion and honor the sacrifices of our veterans by fighting for the care and support they deserve. The future of our veterans — and the strength of our country — depends on it. 

Jesse Gould, a former U.S. Army Ranger  who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has benefited from experimental treatment, is the founder of the Heroic Hearts Project, a nonprofit support group for U.S. veterans that endorses psychedelic therapies to treat PTSD and other ailments.