Adm. William McRaven, a former Navy SEAL, and two other retired four-star officers have joined a lawsuit to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to build more housing for homeless veterans on the grounds of the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.
The failure of the VA to address the housing needs of veterans poses “a direct threat to national security” in the long term, according to the brief filed by McRaven, who as head of Joint Special Operations Command oversaw the 2011 raid by SEAL Team 6 that killed Osama Bin Laden.
McRaven was joined in the amicus brief filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; retired Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the former Army vice chief of staff; and retired Army Col. David Sutherland, former special assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff focusing on warrior family support.
Their brief urged the appeals court to uphold the ruling last year by district Judge David O. Carter ordering the VA to construct 1,800 units of permanent housing for disabled and homeless veterans on the 388-acre grounds of the West LA VAMC, in addition to the 1,200 units the VA has promised to put up by 2030.