On point with MD Secretary of Veterans and Military Families Anthony Woods

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Anthony Woods speaks from experience when he talks about his path to becoming Governor Wes Moore’s choice for Maryland Secretary of Veterans and Military Families.

Secretary Woods, a West Point graduate who served for two tours in Iraq, understands the significant challenges of transitioning to civilian life, including physical and mental health concerns, financial struggles, and social reintegration.

Now, two years into his tenure, Woods embraces care for veterans as a moral duty for those who sacrificed for their country and has been focusing on healthcare, employment opportunities, and mental health support to address severe conditions like PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and physical disabilities that, without proper care, could lead to unemployment, homelessness, or even suicide.

“First and foremost, we run a service program where we’ve got accredited claims officers who work at 15 different locations across the state and work virtually to help veterans file their claims to gain access to disability compensation or VA health care. That program is so successful, it’s got a 94% claims acceptance rate. So that means, when you sit down with one of our folks and they submit it to the VA on your behalf, 94% of the time the VA says, yes, this is a good claim.” Woods says.

The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs has been renamed the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families. Secretary Woods highlights that this name change reflects an expanded mission: the department now formally acknowledges and provides services not only to veterans but also to their families. This shift recognizes the vital role military families play and aims to address their unique needs alongside those of veterans.

“When we say military families, we mean veteran families, of course, active duty military dependents, but also caregivers and survivors. Because we were we have this fundamental belief that if the family thrives, the veteran or the service member thrives too” pointing out that the DoD moves  service members and their families all around the country and all around the world, but it’s up to the state to welcome them into the state and community or the job market.

Recognizing that government alone can’t address every issue, Secretary Woods says that the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families launched Maryland Joins Forces, a partnership initiative with veteran service organizations and military-focused nonprofits. Instead of duplicating efforts at high cost, the program collaborates to tackle key challenges in the veteran community, including employment, education access, housing and food insecurity, and healthcare.

The Spy recently interviewed Secretary Woods about the mission of the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families and addressed other significant issues including the impact of punitive DEI and DoD policies on gays and transgenders in the military.

A day after the interview, The Spy reached out to the Secretary to ask if he had a statement about the recent Department of Defense scrubbing of the Arlington National Cemetery website, which removed links to the histories and lives of veterans of color—both men and women—including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the WWII Navajo codebreakers, Colin Powell, and others.