VA: The Human Cost of War takes a broad look at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - examining the organization's history, leadership, structure, funding and relationship to veterans. The film chronicles, in depth and often in wrenching detail, the workings of this crucial but at times beleaguered American institution. Told through a series of personal stories from veterans and intertwined with deep historical and political analysis from leading scholars and elected officials, the documentary explores the social contract between veterans and society, exposing some of the key ways in which the VA, and we as a society, fail veterans, who, according to Department of Veterans Affairs research, continue to commit suicide at the harrowing rate of 20 veterans per day.
The program features insightful interviews from key figures such as: Dr. David J. Shulkin, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Beto O'Rourke, U.S. Representative, Texas's 16th District, Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs; Paul Rieckhoff, First Lieutenant U.S. Army, Ret., Founder & CEO of IAVA; Seth Moulton, Officer Marine Corps, Ret. U.S. Representative, Massachusetts's 6th District; Linda J. Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard University; and Jean and Howard Somers, the parents of Daniel Somers, a retired Army Intelligence Officer who served several tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom and committed suicide on June 10, 2013 after a number of adverse interactions with the VA.
VIDEO USAGE RIGHTS
Why the AV version? Because it provides additional usage options for PBS videos. AV versions come with limited performance rights so they can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a building or on a single campus. They also can be enjoyed in admission-free public screenings, which also makes them ideal for use by library patrons and businesses involved in community clubs and organizations.