Retired Staff Sgt. Matt Lammers holds the hand of his wife, Alicia, before the swimming competition at the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games in Clearwater, Fla. Alicia has been Matt's official caregiver for nearly eight years, but she was cut from the Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program last December. Eve Edelheit for NPR hide caption
Robert Wilkie testifies during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee nominations hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on June 27, 2018. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Veterans Affairs secretary nominee Robert Wilkie (right) speaks with Marion Polk, national commander of AMVETS, before testifying at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee nominations hearing Wednesday. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, left, is seen as President Trump announces his intention to nominate Wilkie to be the next Veterans Affairs Secretary during a summit at the East Room of the White House on Friday. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, nominee for veterans affairs secretary, leaves the Dirksen Building afte meeting with Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., on Tuesday. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images hide caption
More than 20 military employees have shared concerns about Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, with members and staff of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the panel's top Democrat, Jon Tester. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Ousted Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin demurred from pointing a finger squarely at President Trump but described a VA riddled with political pressure and conflict. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
In this 1945 image, test subjects enter a gas chamber for a U.S. military experiment that will expose them to mustard gas. Courtesy of Edgewood Arsenal hide caption
Coalition forces fire a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle during a training exercise in Afghanistan's Helmand province in 2013. Spc. Justin Young/U.S. Department of Defense/DVIDS hide caption
A House-approved bill would require a court hearing before a U.S. veteran is deemed mentally unfit to own a gun. Here, rifles are seen at a gun shop in Merrimack, N.H., last year. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin, then the undersecretary for health at the VA, testifies on Capitol Hill Feb. 1. Shulkin was confirmed on Monday. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
David Shulkin (center), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary of health, talks with attendees in July prior to testifying at a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing in Gilbert, Ariz. Donald Trump has selected Shulkin to lead the agency. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption
David Shulkin, the undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaves a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
Coning left the Marines in 2013. His wife says she thinks it's likely he had post-traumatic stress disorder, but he was never tested for it by the VA. Courtesy of the Coning family hide caption