Over the past several years, nearly every branch of the armed forces has struggled with recruitment, especially the Army. In April of this year, the US Department of Defense (DoD) reported that the Army, Navy, and Air Force would all fail to meet recruitment goals; only the Marines and Space Forces were expected to reach their targets.

The impressive collection of articles in this special issue provides a snapshot of the large-scale, all-hands approach the VHA adopted during the COVID-19 public health crisis.