Washington ( CNN ) -- In the Army you live by the Warrior Ethos , which states , `` I will always place the mission first . I will never quit . I will never accept defeat . I will never leave a fallen comrade behind . '' I am alive today because my helicopter crew lived by these words . When our aircraft was shot down in November 2004 , the injuries I sustained were devastating . The amount of blood I had lost in a matter of minutes was so vast that my crew thought I was dead . They could have left me in that dusty field in Iraq , but they did n't . Instead , they stood their ground in the face of approaching enemy , risked their lives , and carried me to safety . They did this regardless of whether I was dead or alive , because the American warrior does not leave a fallen comrade behind . My crew and all the men and women in the U.S. armed forces know what it means to be a part of something greater than themselves . They are America 's finest sons and daughters , and we made a promise to care for them after they serve . It is our job in the Department of Veterans Affairs to make sure that promise is kept . We at VA stand at a historic time with great opportunities to further our mission in caring for the nation 's 23.4 million veterans and their families . With the largest one-year percentage increase in VA 's budget in over three decades , President Obama has made it very clear that serving our nation 's veterans is a top priority in his administration . He wants to increase funding for VA by $ 25 billion above our current baseline over the next five years . He launched a new initiative to expand eligibility for veterans ' health care to as many as 500,000 Priority Group 8 Veterans who were previously denied care . And he wants us to invest in better technology to deliver services and benefits to veterans with the quality and efficiency they deserve . As commander in chief , President Obama has charged Secretary Eric Shinseki and all of VA 's leadership with a new mission : to transform VA into a 21st-century organization . Secretary Shinseki has begun to do just that by making VA a more veteran-centered , results-oriented and forward-looking department . It will be a different organization from the one that exists today . It will be accessible , responsive and transparent . To achieve the president 's vision , we must leverage new technologies to serve the various demographics and needs of today 's veterans , while also renewing our commitment to the older generation of veterans . These technologies will carry us well into the 21st century as we maintain our mission to serve our nation 's veterans for the rest of their lives . Tonight , 131,000 veterans will sleep on the streets of our cities . These are the same men and women who allowed us to have the opportunities to go to school , get a job and buy a home . We are all dishonored anytime a veteran is forced to sleep on the streets , and President Obama , Secretary Shinseki and the VA leadership team will not stand for this . Within the next five years , we aim to eliminate veteran homelessness by providing grants to community-based organizations assisting homeless veterans and by attacking all the areas that often lead to homelessness . Our veterans deserve better , and we are determined to provide them the best care and most timely benefits possible to end homelessness in their ranks . We will improve medical care to minority veterans , including female veterans , who are enrolling in VA at historic rates . We will also improve access to VA for veterans who live in rural areas . All our veterans deserve the best care possible regardless of race , gender or where they live . And we are working with the Department of Defense to build a fully interoperable electronic records system that will provide each member of our military with a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record . For VA , this will revolutionize our claims process by making it faster with higher-quality decisions and with fewer errors . Five years from now , we intend to make VA the provider of choice for veterans -- in insurance , health care , education , home loans and counseling . We are going to be the advocate for veterans , their dependents and survivors to make sure we meet their needs , hear their concerns , and take proper action . We know that we have a big task ahead of us . But there is not a population more deserving of the absolute best than the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms . In the same way that my crew refused to leave me behind , each and every one of us at VA will fight everyday for our nation 's military heroes to ensure that they are never left behind . It is our turn to serve America 's warriors , and we at VA consider it a privilege .
American warrior does n't leave a fallen comrade behind , VA official says . Comment: VA funding increase will improve care and benefits . Goal is to have zero veterans homeless in five years , Duckworth says . Duckworth : Electronic records system will speed claims and reduce errors .