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.

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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.

Carter also ordered construction of 750 temporary units on the West LA grounds within 18 months.

The retired officers warned in their brief that “the public now associates military service with war trauma leading to physical and psychological harms, such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and elevated suicide risk.”

In transitioning from the military to civilian life, troops now fear that “the VA will not provide necessary care for them should they suffer such harms while serving their country,” the brief said.

“These adverse health effects of military service have intensified in recent years, especially for veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001,” the brief said, and will eventually affect recruitment and retention, although all the services have reported meeting or exceeding their recruiting goals in fiscal 2024.

The retired officers said the outcome of the case on appeal would “directly impact the availability of health care services for veterans” at the West LA VAMC and also “the effectiveness of reintegration programs that are necessary to military recruitment efforts and the country’s long-term national security interests.”

In his initial ruling, Carter, an 80-year-old Marine Vietnam veteran who was severely wounded in the siege of Khe Sanh, also voided the leases for oil wells, parking lots, a baseball stadium, athletic fields and swimming pools on the West LA VAMC grounds. He stated that the “economic interests” of the leaseholders were far outweighed by the needs of the homeless and disabled veterans.

The Justice Department appealed Carter’s ruling to the Ninth Circuit on behalf of the VA, arguing in part that the VA lacked the funding to comply with Carter’s orders. A ruling by the Ninth Circuit is expected in April.

In a separate brief filed with the Ninth Circuit, the Vietnam Veterans of America, joined by AMVETS of California and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, argued that the fires that devastated Los Angeles have increased the need for more housing for homeless veterans in the area.

“The fires demonstrate that loss can come quickly and unexpectedly to any veteran, and that more housing is needed — right now,” their brief said.

Related: Homeless Vets Evacuated from VA Shelters to Avoid LA Fires Return to Uncertain Future

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