I would love to talk to someone about this. I was a VA chaplain at the Tucson VA Medical Center for…read moreten years. My name is Melvin Brinkley. My cell phone is 608 797 0583. My email is: chaplainmel@gmail.com The Director of Tucson's VA Medical Center cheats Veterans and their families out of a well-deserved privilege that has been mandated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in a Veterans Healthcare Administration directive. I have brought this issue up to the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of the Inspector General. The problem with the OSC and OIG is that they don't investigate anything themselves. In this instance, as per OSC and OIG standard operating procedures, they have rubber-stamped what the Director of the Tucson VA Medical Center reported to them. The Director has distorted the intent of the VHA Directive in order to accommodate the needs of her staff, not the Veterans and their families -- as she is commissioned to do. The Director of SAVAHCS, or Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, which is in Tucson, Arizona, has mandated that all conference rooms be reserved by authorized VA staff members. This policy is an air tight ban all non-Christian Veterans of ever having the chance of using the "Chapel and Conference Room" (Building 4, Room 110) since there are only Christian VA chaplains on staff at SAVAHCS who are authorized to reserve this room for an extremely limited time for their worship services. VHA Directive 1111 (July 21, 2021), Chapter 9, a. (6), clearly states that "Chapels must remain available at all times for use by Veterans and their families." Since only Christains get to use the chapel, this is a violation of the First Amendment, and since Congress ostensibly controls the VA budget through their approval of their budget, they are responsible for this infraction of the Constitutional rights of Veterans in the First Amendment. Congress sets the budget for the VA and therefore ostensibly condones this, restrictive at best and prejudicial at worst, "Chapel and Conference Room'' reservation policy. The other VA Medical Centers in Arizona, which are in Phoenix and Prescott, allow Veterans and their families to have access to their chapels at all times. In light of the horrendous suicide rate of Veterans, why not do something that says Veterans and their families are important instead of catering to upper management's dubious need to have one more conference room when they already have over sixty other conference rooms to choose from at SAVAHCS? There is no shortage of conference rooms at this VA medical center (VAMC). I know this for a fact because I worked on staff at this VA medical center as a chaplain. This conference room policy violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." Congress approves SAVAHCS's budget and therefore tacitly approves this covert banning of Non-Christians using the "Chapel and Conference Room" for their prayers, meditations, and religious practices. This SAVAHCS chapel reservation policy violates the First Amendment. The "Chapel and Conference Room" at Tucson's VAMC is used for less than four hours on Sunday mornings as a chapel. Four hours equates to 2.4 % of the hours in a week. In the other 97.6 % of the week, this room is treated exactly like any other conference room by VA staff. SAVAHCS uses the phrase "dual purpose" in describing this arrangement. "Dual purpose," meaning that this room serves as both a chapel and a conference room. There is nothing "dual" about this arrangement. Duality means equal usage. The "Chapel and Conference Room" at the Tucson VAMC has a vestry, an altar, a massive church organ, and a chancel - which makes this space a chapel, not a conference room by any reasonable person's estimation. Why relegate Veterans to meditation rooms when there is a perfectly good chapel on this VAMC campus where they can pray or meditate in an appropriately designed space according to VHA Directive 1111? This top-tier VA Medical Center receives over half a billion dollars of taxpayer money annually to provide healthcare for over 170,000 Veterans, yet Tucson VA upper management refuses to provide this one privilege for Veterans, a privilege that would honor Veterans and cost the taxpayers nothing since the chapel already exists. During my entire military career, my commanders never let anyone use the chapel as anything but a chapel. The chapel was available for military members and their families at all times. Even in Afghanistan, when we only had a tent as a chapel, that tent was treated as sacrosanct. This draconian conference room policy at Tucson's VA Medical Center does not honor those who "... have borne the battle ..." but instead caters to the myopic, self-serving whims of management. This Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) conference room policy: 1) violates VHA Directive 1111 (July 21,

It's a great place for my dad to hang out being a veteran, The people are very nice they are all…read moreheroes.. The only problem is that I had with place, while sitting at the bar I have a couple of roaches on my legs. So disgusting I told my dad about it and he said they're working on a honey . My response to my dad was don't roaches carry diseases and things of that nature. Somebody needs to call the health department on these people you can't treat heroes like this.

It's highly a friendly place and people are very professional and understanding . I haven't been…read moreable to go back because my wheelchair broke down and so I have stayed home . I miss the events and I miss the family feeling. Because whenever you are with them you feel like a family . It's a non-smoking place which helps me with my health . I'm not able to go to the other post because of the cigarette smoking inside. Quality of the food is wonderful .

Ok where to begin, it took me way longer than it should have to join this organization!…read moreThis is now my new home away from home. I love the staff, the command structure, and my fellow patrons. This is a great place for veterans, and one of only two places in Tucson that sells Old Style Beer! So if you're a veteran who has served in a foreign war zone, please join us, you won't regret it!